A building that’s been around for 140 years in downtown St. Thomas, which used to house a restaurant, gym, and apartments, will be demolished after a fire broke out early Thursday morning, according to the local fire department.
The alarm was raised just before 7 a. m., and firefighters arrived within six minutes to start tackling the blaze, said Dave Gregory, chief of the St. Thomas Fire Department.
“At that point, they went into rescue mode,” he said. “There were people trying to get out.”
The team used ground ladders to save two individuals from the front windows on the upper floors, Gregory noted, and assisted other residents in getting safely down via the fire escapes at the back of the building.
In a social media update on Thursday evening, fire officials stated that at least seven individuals went to St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital for smoke inhalation and minor injuries. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries reported; however, several pets were lost in the fire as mentioned in their post.
According to Kim Destun, the fire prevention officer for St. Thomas, at least nine people have been displaced because of the incident. This number doesn’t include residents from two neighboring buildings who have also had to leave temporarily.
The Canadian Red Cross and Victim Services Elgin are helping those affected by this event, Destun added.
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Emergency crews are working to put out a fire along the 500-block of Talbot Street in downtown St. Thomas. (Submitted by Guy Mc Gregor)
A family with a student from Monsignor Morrison Catholic Elementary School is among those affected by the fire. The school promptly organized a donation drive to assist them.
“Unfortunately, the family has lost literally everything. But they are safe; they are healthy. And they are doing well,” said Emily Butler, the school’s principal. “Our community is just rallying around the family to try to support them.”
The school office is collecting gift cards until Friday evening, Butler shared, noting that many have already come in and she was able to deliver some donations to the family on Thursday.
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Fire Not Considered Suspicious
<p"Due to severe structural damage caused by the fire, demolition work began that afternoon," Gregory explained while ensuring crews took care not to harm adjacent buildings. This historic structure was built back in 1882 according to Gregory. The ground floor housed Lucky Kitchen Buffet as well as a gym. “It’s not being considered suspicious,” Destun stated. “The investigation is ongoing but it looks like it may have started in the restaurant area.” Yurek Pharmacy & Home Healthcare sits right next door; although it’s in its own separate building and remains intact for now, it closed for business that day due to uncertainty about damages based on an update provided by owners on Thursday. The cause of this fire still hasn’t been figured out yet according to Gregory. No damage estimate is currently available either. The 500-block of Talbot Street stayed closed Thursday evening while work continued on securing safety measures concerning potential collapse. There were also closures affecting nearby Mondamin Street Hiawatha street Curtis Street “Talbot St will be closed through Friday while we make sure everything’s safe from collapsing.” said officials online post.Source link
