The man accused of setting several recent fires in the downtown area of St. John’s will remain in custody at least until Monday.

31-year-old Alex Hayes made a brief return to provincial court this afternoon following his first appearance on Thursday.

He had been ordered to undergo a mental fitness assessment, which determined that he is mentally fit to face the charges against him.

Hayes was arrested early Wednesday, hours after someone set fire to the heritage home known as The Observatory, next to The Rooms.

Police believe he’s responsible for setting that fire and two others in the same area of town on January 19th.

The fires caused extensive damage but no one was injured.