West-end industrial building gutted by fire
Posted March 15, 2013 5:30 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Ontario Fire Marshal’s office is investigating after a four-alarm fire gutted an industrial building near Keele Street and Lawrence Avenue West on Friday morning.
No one was injured.
The fire broke out in a used car showroom and auto body on Ingram Drive around 2:30 a.m. and officials said it would be several hours before it was completely knocked down.
“Right now, we’re just putting as much water as we can [on the fire] to let it soak in,” platoon chief Trevor Trotter said at the scene.
“It’s going to take a while. We’re going to be here for most of the day if not into tomorrow.”
Several walls collapsed inside the building and ice formed on the street, making it difficult for firefighters to get the blaze under control.
By noon, it was still too dangerous for investigators from the Marshal’s office to enter the building.
“The first we have to do is try to make the building safe,” investigator Jim Gillespie told CityNews.
“I need to find out what kind of work was being done, if they were doing hot work [at the time of the fire],” he said.
Gillespie said tearing down the building was a possibility but investigators would have to consult with engineers.
The cost of the fire is high: an early estimate on the damage is $500,000.
The cause is not yet known.
