Clarington fire crews still working to put out fire at Durham police property unit building

Clarington firefighters are continuing to work on extinguishing hot spots a day after a major fire destroyed the Durham Regional Police Service’s property unit building.

“There is extensive damage to the building and to the vehicles as well,” Sgt. Joanne Bortoluss told reporters on Monday.

She said multiple police vehicles were inside the building, located on Courtice Court just west of Highways 418 and 401, when the fire was detected at around 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Bortoluss said the service’s RIDE truck and canine unit vehicles were in the affected part of the property, which appeared to be concentrated at a vehicle storage garage.

“Obviously, it will affect us we don’t have those vehicles anymore and how quickly they can be replaced is something that’s going to have to be looked at and discussed,” she said.

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Bortoluss said other police services are aware of the fire and vehicles might be seconded to Durham Regional Police for use in the interim.

The fire caused a thick, black plume of smoke to billow out of a vehicle storage area of the building. The smoke could be seen from kilometres away and Highway 401 was briefly shut down during the fire’s peak.

The cause of the fire along with its origin point and the circumstances surrounding it weren’t clear as of Monday afternoon.

Investigators with Ontario’s Office of the Fire Marshal were called in, but they weren’t able to get inside the property due to ongoing firefighting operations.

Several fire crews were called back to the scene Monday afternoon as firefighters shifted their attention to a hot spot on the north side of the property. A part of Courtice Court was closed off to vehicular access.

UPDATE: Clarington fire crews continue working to extinguish hot spots at the @DRPS property unit, which was gutted by a major blaze last night. Crews are venting the roof on the north side. Several fire trucks just pulled up to assist.

Background here: https://t.co/oOnkfD0k2L pic.twitter.com/HpIDcd6B67

— Nick Westoll (@NWestoll) July 18, 2022

Police are investigating a fire that occurred at a police building in Clarington on Sunday evening.

See the full story here: https://t.co/rrFOFP989a pic.twitter.com/lqwgS0bCWd

— Durham Regional Police (@DRPS) July 18, 2022