Early morning fire devastates Sarnia, Ont. heritage home
Residents are in shock after an early morning fire engulfed a heritage home on Christina Street in Sarnia.
Just after 7 a.m. on Friday, Sarnia fire crews responded to a heritage home located on Christina Street.
According to Deputy Fire Chief Ken Dwinell, the structure was “fully involved” by flames by the time fire crews arrived on scene, so fire crews at first attacked the blaze from the inside, but later took a defensive approach and attacked the blaze from the outside.
Firefighters had dificulting accessing the laze from above through the attic due to the building being outfitted with a steel roof years ago. This made the blaze stubborn, and nearly impossible to get water into the roof of the structure.
The building on the corner of Christina and Maxwell streets was well known in the community.
“Just the loss. It was a beautiful building inside and out,” said Melinda DeVries. “It used to be my insurance company back in the day. The devastation. I can't even imagine what the owners are going through.”
Crews are on scene of a structure fire on Christina Street N in Sarnia on June 9, 2023. (Source: Sarnia Fire Rescue)
Te building had been vacant for approximately 18 months and was currently under construction. Markus Henne, who owns a nearby jewelry store, was shocked when cycling to work.
“Coming through the hotel parking lot, I'd see the smoke billowing up, and I didn't know what was going on. And then I come around the corner and see all these fire trucks and I thought, ‘Oh, my God.’ And that was my parents place,” he said.
The fire did not spread to any other buildings, and no one was inside at the time of the fire.
Christine Street, between Nelson Street and London Road remains closed at this time.
The cause of the blaze is under investigation, and a damage estimate is still unknown.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.