THUNDER BAY – A fire at a boarded-up rooming house continued to stubbornly burn into Monday morning, more than 12 hours after firefighters first arrived to fight it.
Acting Fire Chief Greg Hankkio said his crews were finding it tricky to fight the fire at the former Odd Fellows Hall on May Street, battling the building’s weakened structural integrity and a maze of renovations over the years that have left scores of combustible material to provide fuel for the flames.
As of Monday morning, Hankkio said firefighters aren’t aware if anyone was inside the structure when the fire broke out, sometime around 9:30 p.m. on Sunday night.
“At this point, no, but it is definitely a concern of ours right now. Unfortunately, due to the fact the fire is still ongoing and the structural integrity of the building, we’re not able to make access to the building right now,” Hankkio said.
“It is something we’re cognizant of and something we’ll definitely be looking into.”
When firefighters arrived, flames could be seen rising through the roof of the building, which this past November was closed and all tenants removed after the Thunder Bay District Health Unit declared the building unsafe for occupancy.
“My understanding is the fire was primarily involved on the third floor of the building. That’s where the bulk of our fire suppression activities were taking place,” Hankkio said.
A total of five pumpers and two aerial pumpers attended the fire.
Hankkio said it hasn’t been an easy one to fight.
“The building has gone through multiple renovations and there are some significant timbers and structural members in the building, so it’s a deep-seated fire. It’s probably in a bunch of nooks and crannies and void spaces within the building,” Hankkio said.
“Really what they’re doing is just waiting for it to kind of break through and they’re suppressing it as they see the fire break through in certain locations.”
As a result of the fire, 49 occupants of nearby Shelter House were evacuated on Sunday night and transported to a local hotel.
Hankkio said they plan to continue to monitor the situation and, if necessary, extend the closure on Monday.
“They stayed there overnight and in co-operation with Community Services, we’re looking at accommodations for them should it be needed again tonight, at possibly a community centre.”
Hankkio said it’s far too early in the investigation to know what caused the fire to break out.
“The fire is still active. We have to assess the structural integrity of the building. We did have a fire-prevention officer on scene last night, so we did gather some preliminary data, but with respect to cause and determination, that’ll be an ongoing process.”
