Firefighters are busy extinguishing a huge fire in an empty commercial building in downtown Hamilton on Saturday morning.
At about 6 a.m., crews were alerted to a fire in a four-story century building at 206 King Street West.
Large amounts of smoke could be seen from the building.
“We found fire on the first floor and we started to experience heavy and high heat. The smoking conditions changed quickly and due to the change in fire conditions, we brought our crews out for their safety,” fire chief David Cunliffe told reporters of the scene.
Cunliffe said the building was previously used for health and retail establishments and contained heavy wood, adding to the fire’s intensity.
The fire spread to all floors and was upgraded to a third alarm, with about 45 firefighters on the scene at the height of the blaze.
Crews launched a defensive attack and deployed three air units to attack the blaze with large amounts of water.
“While fighting the fire from the side, we had a structural collapse. We collapsed walls on all four sides of the building. On the east side, it (the wall) came down on the adjacent building. No one was injured by those collapses,” Cunliffe said.
As a result of the partial collapse, large amounts of debris are scattered across King Street.
Meanwhile, Cunliffe said a fire broke out on a condo balcony nearby at 20 George Street and is believed to have started from embers from the fire in the building.
“The fire service responded very quickly and we extinguished the fire with minimal damage to the balcony.”
No civilian or firefighter injuries were reported.
Cunliffe said it is not known where the fire in the building started or what started it.
“Right now, this fire is still deeply rooted. We will be on site for most of the day, if not in the evening. And we continue to experience structural collapses,” Cunliffe said.
Crews said the smoke from the fire was traveling east and over the mountain.
Residents are advised to keep windows closed.
The fire department is aware of the fire, but it is not known whether they will investigate.
Road closures in the area are expected to remain in place for the rest of the day.
