Easter Sunday fire in Hamilton causes $1M in damage | CBC News
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A fire in the Ottawa Street commercial district on Sunday caused “extensive” damage to a building housing both commercial and residential tenants, according to Hamilton Fire Department.
Assistant Deputy Fire Chief Stephen Welton said firefighters responded to a structure fire at 211 Ottawa St. N. just before 3:30 p.m. The building has commercial tenants on the lower level and residential units above.
In an emailed statement to CBC Hamilton on Monday, Welton said first-arriving firefighters found an extensive fire at the rear of the property.
The statement said the rear of the structure was fully involved and rapidly spread to the roof area. Wind conditions at the time of the incident contributed to the fire’s spread.
Welton said the alarm was upgraded to bring additional resources from across the city to assist with fire suppression operations. They helped contain and extinguish the fire.
He said firefighters also made entry to confirm that all occupants had exited the property. No injuries were reported.
“Damage from the fire is extensive,” he said, impacting units 209 to 211 Ottawa St. N. He added that the fire is suspected to have been caused by improperly disposed-of smokers’ materials.
The damage is estimated at more than $1 million.
GoFundMe set up to help business owners
Nerdcore, a comic bookstore on the ground floor of the building, posted about the fire on Instagram on Sunday.
“Earlier today, there was a fire at our building that started in the back area and moved into both floors,” it reads.
“At this point, it does appear that the damage may be quite significant, but we are still waiting for more information and will keep everyone updated as we learn more. Thank you all for your support and patience during this time.”
HAMBRGR Ottawa Street, a restaurant, also said on social media that it was affected by the fire.
“A fire broke out next door and unfortunately we got caught in the aftermath,” it reads.
“Everyone’s safe, but we’re taking a little break to clean up the smoke and fix the damage. We’ll be back soon, better than ever.”
A GoFundMe page set up to help small businesses affected by the fire has so far raised more than $3,000.