Investigators are exploring a possible connection between a series of suspicious fires in Halifax.

The latest fire damaged a church and daycare in the city’s South End.

The fire started at St. Andrew’s United Church, located at the corner of Coburg Road and Robie Street, at 11 p.m. Sunday.

When firefighters arrived, they found two fires in storage rooms in the basement, which houses the church hall sanctuary and a child care centre.

After extinguishing the fires, they walked through the church and found a third fire had been set to a piano.

No one was injured but the building sustained extensive smoke damage.

“It’s a mess down there. It’s been gutted,” says daycare owner Tanya Dalton. “The daycare is heavily damaged, mostly in my office, water damage in other classrooms.”

Dalton has owned and operated the child care centre since 2009. It serves 40 families every weekday.

“It’s disheartening that somebody would do this to a community church and also a child care centre that serves the community in this area,” says Dalton.

Police are investigating the cause of the fires, which they are calling “suspicious.”

This is the second time in two months a fire has been set at the church. A fire was deliberately set at the church in May, but it was much smaller, was quickly extinguished, and didn’t cause much damage.

No arrests were made in connection with the first fire, and police are now investigating whether there may be a link between a string of deliberately-set fires in the area.

“In the last month, there’s been 14 fires lit in the downtown core, mostly on garbage cans or mailboxes,” says Const. Pierre Bourdages of the Halifax Regional Police. “So, it’s still possible they could all be connected. It’s something our investigators are looking at.”

Meanwhile, other faith organizations have offered members of St. Andrew’s United a place to worship until they are allowed back into their church.

“It’s painful and frustrating to go through this experience a couple of times, but I would say my faith in the community and other Christians, and people of other faiths, has actually grown,” says Rev. Russell Daye, the minister at St. Andrew’s United Church.

Dalton says her daycare will reopen within a week at a temporary location.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Jayson Baxter