PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island's House speaker thinks the fire that destroyed his law office last year was deliberately set.

Democratic House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi told The Providence Journal he believes the May 11 fire at his Warwick office was arson.

Shekarchi spoke about the fire this week, months after the incident, because he's concerned about a car that caught fire near his car and burnt down to the bare metal at his condominium complex in Warwick in December, and a separate fire at the office of North Providence eviction lawyer Steve Conti in July.

Shekarchi said he has no evidence the car fire was connected to the fire at his office. But, the newspaper reports, an anonymous online post took credit for the fires at the two law offices.

Shekarchi said he believes there's at least a connection between the law office fires based on emails he received and turned over to the police.

The owner of the car, and her husband, are on the board of the condominium complex. Warwick Police said there was no indication the fire was incendiary and attributed it to a mechanical failure.

The state fire marshal’s office has said the damage to the building that housed Shekarchi’s law office was so extensive that state investigators could not conclusively determine the cause of the fire.

Investigators are still looking into the fires at his office and Conti’s office.

The police retrieved footage from Conti's law office camera and a sign that said: “Free Housing For All.” Conti said this week that the sign led him to believe the fire was set by someone who's part of a group that protests in front of court. He said the group tried to “shame” him for filing so many evictions during the pandemic.

Shekarchi has handled evictions for the Warwick Housing Authority.