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.