Cause under investigation after fire rips through vacant south London building
London firefighters are investigating the cause of a massive blaze in a vacant factory building at 10 Centre St., just off of Wharncliffe Road South.
It was eventually brought under control late Tuesday night.
The smoke was so thick and heavy that the city sent has sent out a warning to anyone within one kilometre of the site to keep their doors and windows shut.
“You’ll notice that the smoke is yellow, brown, black, all different colours, so there’s a lot of different things that are burning inside the building,” said Platoon Chief Gary Mosburger. “That kind of smoke produces heavy levels of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, cyanide, things that people should not be breathing in. So we’ve asked people to protect in place, shut off their hvac systems, close their windows, and stay indoors.”
Crews were called to the fire just over the supper hour Tuesday. It roared through the evening with crews working in shifts to knock it down.
“We’re in a defensive strategy fighting the fire from the exterior,” said Mosburger. “The fire itself, it’s just way too dangerous to send firefighters in the interior to a building that we already are aware of that was vacant.”
No one was injured.
Neighbour Warren Martin tells CTV News London individuals are often spotted coming in and out of the building. “Abandoned building and usually there’s a lot of homeless people that live in there. Old mattresses and stuff dragged in and all that.”
The vacant building has been on the city’s radar for some time. Earlier this year it appeared on a list of sites recommended for demolition by city staff.
“Well sometimes you think a lot of these things should be torn down and not just left if it’s a fire trap,” said neigbour Dave Robinson as he watched firefighers work to keep the fire under control.
It had originally been home to Hubson Transport in the 70s but more recently housed a moving company, karate school and renovation company.
The shell of the building was torn down Wednesday, but the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
- With files from CTV News London's Nick Paparella
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.