Fire does $2 million damage
For a moment Friday morning, all eyes turned from the charred wreckage of a downtown Grimsby salon to a pair of labrador retrievers and their tall, lanky owner surveying the scene.
Dozens of Grimsby residents gathered around the site of the Thursday’s fire, quietly watching fire investigators sift through the burned building. Many of them were pleased by the arrival of Gracie and Lana and their owner Brad Eggink.
While the dogs appeared more than happy to walk around the neighbourhood they called home until Thursday, the experience was more sobering for Eggink.
Everything he owned is now blacked rubble in the husk of a building.
“Last night I stayed with my mom. For tonight, I’m not sure yet,” said Eggink, who lived with his dogs above the Dressing Room Salon and Day Spa at the corner of Main and Elm streets. “I was at work yesterday in an all-day meeting. When I got out, I saw I had 60 unanswered phone calls. That was when I found out I lost my home.”
Eggink’s apartment and the salon, along with the Pic Plus photo shop and the Yoga Truly studio attached to the building, were destroyed by a raging fire Thursday afternoon.
On Friday, Ontario Fire Marshall investigator Kevin Pahor confirmed eyewitness accounts of the fire, saying the blaze started around the outdoor patio of the salon around 1:20 p.m. Thursday.
Clients and staff at the salon were alerted to the fire by a passerby and evacuated the building safely.
However, salon employees knew Eggink wasn’t home and the dogs were inside. When they arrived, Grimsby firefighters were able to rescue the dogs, who appeared unfazed by the incident Friday afternoon.
“They are doing good,” Eggink said.
Firefighters from Grimsby, West Lincoln and Lincoln responded to the call. For the first few hours, the fire appeared to be confined to Eggink’s apartment and the back of the salon. However, by 3:30 p.m. smoke was pouring from the front of the building, including out of the photo shop and yoga studio.
Grimsby Fire Chief Michael Cain when it was clear firefighters could not control the blaze inside the building, they were pulled back and focused on protecting the surrounding buildings. “In that circumstance, we shift from an offensive to a defensive posture. There was no one inside, and you are not going to expose your firefighters to that kind of hazard, so they focus on containing the fire and preventing it from spreading,” Cain said.
While the building had working smoke alarms, it did not have a sprinkler system installed. Moreover, Cain said the century-old building ’s design made fighting the blaze difficult.
Cain said the building using “balloon framing ”, a popular method of building wooden structures in the 19th century. Ballooning leaves gaps in the walls and floors that allow a fire to move through a building unimpeded. It can also effectively hide the flames from firefighters.
Cain said the 55 firefighters called to the scene spent hours in the heat and intense smoke to pour water on the building. By around 7:26 p.m., some six hours after the fire started, they had control of the blaze and prevented it from spreading to other structures.
Pahor said the cause of the fire is still under investigation and he expected he would remain on scene most of Friday afternoon. Roads around the building will be reopened once it is safe to do so, town officials said.
Pahor estimates at least $2 million of damage was done by the fire and did not know if the century-old building could be salvaged. Structural engineers were on the scene Friday to assess the stability and safety of what survived the flames.
Grimsby Mayor Bob Bently said the town was considering an official historical designation for the building.
Most businesses around the area of Elm and Main streets had reopened Friday, although Pahor said local firefighters were still testing some buildings and residences to ensure any toxic gases from the fire had dissipated.
Bently said a variety of local agencies, including the Red Cross and the Grimsby Benevolent Fund, are assisting residents impacted by the fire. He said those in need of information or assistance should call 211.