Two separate fires in Hamilton, Ont. cause $1.5M worth of damage

Crews responded to two separate fires in Hamilton, Ont. Wednesday afternoon that left one person critically injured and caused a combined $1.5 million worth of damage.

The first call occurred at 4:30 p.m. near Kirkwall Road. Hamilton Fire say that crews were called to a working fire at an industrial storage building with a transport truck inside.

In a news release, officials said that six tankers were utilized to shuttle water back and forth to the scene because the site was in a non-hydrant area.

“Firefighters quickly went to work to protect another large warehouse style structure that was in close proximately and was having fire impingement,” Hamilton Fire said in a news release.

“There were three tractor trailers and an additional transport trailer in this unit.”

It took about 40 minutes to get the main body of the fire under control, officials said.

No injuries were reported, but the damage is estimated to be over a million dollars.

Officials say that welding was being done onsite and is the suspected cause of the fire.

The second fire occurred just six minutes later near Victoria Avenue North and West Avenue North.

Police say that crews arrived on scene to find heavy smoke billowing from a two-storey residence. The fires and walls of the building were ablaze.

Firefighters found a person on the main floor and removed them. Life-saving measures were performed by paramedics and the individual was transported to hospital in critical condition.

Two cats were also recovered and turned over to the SPCA.

In a news release, Hamilton Fire said the fire caused “significant damage to the interior of the residences, including holes through both the first and second floors.”

“At the time of writing, the cause has not been determined,” officials wrote.

The damage to the residence is estimated to be over $500,000.