It took 12 hours, but firefighters finally extinguished a blaze that gutted a historical building in downtown Whitby Friday, forcing nearly two dozen people from their homes.
Crews were called to the 1878-built residential and commercial building located at 121 Brock St. S., just north of Dundas Street East, shortly before 2:30 a.m. on Friday.
More than 50 firefighters responded from Whitby and neighbouring fire departments to extinguish the blaze, which wasn’t brought under control until Friday afternoon.
Eric Smith of the Canadian Red Cross said Saturday that 21 people affected by the fire had registered with the charity for assistance.
“We’re providing everything from emergency shelter in one of our local hotels (to) food and clothing allowances to cover people off in the short term,” Smith said.
Whitby Fire Deputy Chief Scott Siersma said Saturday that the Ontario Fire Marshal cannot yet safely enter the building to investigative. “We’ll need to do some excavating before he can get in and determine the cause,” he said.
An engineer will examine the building and recommend whether it is feasible to maintain the Brock Street facade, Siersma added.
“We’re hopeful,” he said. “It’s part of our Whitby heritage.”
Siersma said Saturday that both 121 and 119 Brock Street are being looked at “from a structural point of view.”
Dundas and Brock Streets were closed to traffic as firefighters doused the blaze. A small stretch of Brock Street is excepted to remain closed for at least a few days.
Siersma told reporters Friday that the fire was initially contained to the basement, but high heat and smoke forced firefighters out, and the flames spread to the second and third floors.
There was a partial roof collapse shortly after fire crews left the building to fight the flames from the outside, Siersma said.
A witness said he saw flames shooting out of the windows and roof at the height of the blaze.
Firefighters said that the fire did not spread to other buildings, but some suffered extensive water and smoke damage.
At least $1-million in damage has occurred, according to Siersma.
With a report from CTV Toronto’s Zuraidah Alman
Photos sent to CTV Toronto by Merle Cole. For more pictures, click here.
Photos submitted by MyNews user Phil Bardoul
