'Nothing but fire'
Destructive blaze crumples commercial garage in Wilmot
Little remains of the Weir’s garage in Wilmot after a merciless fire broke out in the early morning hours Dec. 13.
The wooden structure, located in the 14000-block of Highway 1, was used as a garage, repair shop and retail space.
Kingston fire chief Watson Armstrong said a nearby homeowner reported the blaze shortly before 1 a.m.
“He was alerted by a popping noise... and he looked out the window and saw the garage was on fire,” he said.
Firefighters arrived to find the large building fully involved.
“Nothing but fire,” said Armstrong, describing the view from the scene.
An automatic aid protocol was initiated to ensure there was enough water and manpower at the scene.
“We had everything from Lawrencetown to Berwick,” said Armstrong, estimating about 40 firefighters attended.
“We don’t go inside a structure like that where it’s so heavily involved, we do everything from outside.”
Firefighters had sub-zero temperatures and “a lot of fire” to contend with, Armstrong said.
“There was no wind, so that helped.”
The metal roof collapsing on the fire made for more complications than accelerants in the shop, but there was a bit of a boom that was believed to be linked to propane, Armstrong said.
“We had a pretty good explosion at one point.”
No one was injured as a result of the blaze. The fire suppression and subsequent overhaul efforts lasted until about 5 a.m.
No cause has been determined. “There’s not much left of it,” Armstrong said.