Huge Fire Burns On One Of Bowmanville’s Main Streets
Posted April 29, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A major blaze has consumed part of an historic district in Bowmanville, as firefighters worked for a second time to contain it.
A haze of thick smoke blanketed a section of King St. West in the city’s downtown core Tuesday, after a fire apparently ignited in a photography store during the morning.
Crews thought they had it extinguished at one point, but it flared back up later in the day, prompting another major effort to tame the flames. Another 90 minutes went by while it raged, before authorities were able to say they had it under control. It was finally out after the dinner hour.
But by then, it was too late. The flames had spread to adjacent property and while no one was injured, extensive damage has been left behind. One store has been completely destroyed and a nearby apartment building has also been severely impacted.
“There’s two buildings which have been burned right through the roof,” notes Franklin Wu, the Chief Administrative Officer for Clarington, which covers Bowmanville. “The entire downtown is historic, so many of these buildings are a hundred years old.”
Many local residents could be seen gathered near the proximity of the blaze, watching helplessly as it consumed part of one of their main streets. Some were evacuated from the area as the 3-alarm fire raged.
“The structure’s just too unsafe for us to go inside and start figuring out what caused the blaze,” reports Sgt. Paul McCurbin of Durham Regional Police. “And that investigation will continue tomorrow and subsequent days. But the evacuation of the persons around that block, they remain out of their residences right now. But we are hoping with the check on the air quality and the check on the structure that we can get some of the people back inside their residence so they can have a sleep in their own property.”
It’s still not clear exactly how it began and the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office has been called in to probe the origins. Crews will remain on scene all night, watching for hot spots.
