THUNDER BAY – The investigation into a fire at the former Odd Fellows Hall is being turned over to the Office of the Fire Marshal.
Acting Thunder Bay Fire Rescue Chief Greg Hankkio on Tuesday said his crews have managed to finally put the stubborn fire out and an initial sweep of the building has been made.
However, a full sweep is not yet possible, Hankkio said.
“At this point we’ve extinguished the fire. As you can see we still have a truck sitting here, just keeping an eye on it in case there are some hot spots that flare up,” Hankkio said.
“We were able to make entry into the building this morning with a suppression crew to try to do a primary search of the building. Due to the damage, we weren’t able to get through the entire building, but we were able to search portions of it.”
Hankkio said the search so far has not indicated anyone was inside the building, which was closed to tenants last fall under orders from the Thunder Bay District Health Unit, when the fire broke out late on Sunday night.
“The areas that we searched, we did not find anyone in the building. That being said, and to reiterate, there were areas of the building we weren’t able to get into. But we don’t have any information to date to suggest there was anybody in the building,” Hankkio said.
“We searched it as best as we could. Notwithstanding that, we can’t rule out the possibility that there may have been somebody in there.”
The three-storey building suffered major damage to its top floor, the roof collapsing as a result of the fire.
“There is damage as well on the second floor and in a stairwell leading up to the third floor.”
Hankkio said attempts have been made to reach the building’s owner, but as far as he is aware, they’ve been unsuccessful.
Those conversations will determine the next steps for the structure, whether or not it will be torn down and who will cover the costs.
