Massive fire devastates part of downtown St. Thomas, Ont. for second time this year

St. Thomas fire crews battled a large blaze on Talbot Street in the downtown core on Thursday morning. CTV’s Gerry Dewan reports.

Thick smoke blanketed downtown St. Thomas as crews battled a blaze in the 500-block of Talbot Street.

St. Thomas Fire Department Chief Fire Prevention Officer Kim Destun says 911 calls started to pour in around 6:45 a.m. Thursday morning.

The immediate focus was on getting tenants out of apartments on the upper level of the building.

“Crews were rescuing from the front and the rear of the building; out the windows and off the back fire escapes,” she explained.

One tenant who did not wish to be identified says he awoke to the smell of smoke and had to be pulled out the window of his upper-level apartment. He returned to the scene shortly after being checked over in hospital.

“We did get everybody out. Everyone is safe. There was three or four transported to hospital to be checked out,” Destun said. “Nobody was in serious condition.”

Others had made it out on their own before fire crews arrived. It’s estimated approximately 10 people lived in four upper upper-level apartments.

Rob Wood arrived on the scene at approximately 7 a.m. He spoke with another tenant who escaped the fire.

“He said he lost a couple a couple of pets, some snakes and lost a couple dogs. It’s very sad. Unfortunately, we’re a week away from the Christmas holidays,” he said.

The fire was concentrated in the Central Block building, with a sign at the front indicating it was built 1882.

Businesses on the street level include the Lucky Kitchen Buffet Restaurant and Crazy Joe’s Gym.

Crews battled the fire at the front from Talbot and off the rear along Curtis Street. Destun notes the fire department had been doing fire safety inspections along Talbot and visited the Central Block building approximately six months ago.

She says fires in the downtown are challenging because of the tight confines and the age of the buildings.

“It’s from the 1800s. So, these places have been around for a lot of years, and they’ve been changed. They’ve been renovated over and over and over again; multiple times,” she said. “So, yeah, it’s tough.”

Neighbouring businesses suffered smoke and water damage. Firefighters helped staff at Yurek Pharmacy remove important instruments and medications from their location at 519 Talbot St., just east of the fire scene.

Destun says some of the meds have been moved to a refrigerator at St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital to ensure they’re not lost.

Fire devastated a heritage building on Talbot Street near John Street in July of this year.

That building had to be demolished, and Destun says the Central Block building will likely face the same fate.

A cause for the fire has not been determined.