The Office of the Fire Marshal is investigating after a suspicious fire in a section of the former file factory on Cavan Street in Port Hope on Sunday, July 14, 2024.
Fire Chief Jason Williams said fire crews were called to the abandoned building shortly before 3 a.m. after a person phoned 9-1-1 stating there was a fire.
When crews arrived the upper section of the southern block of the building was engulfed in flames.
“Our crews performed defensive fire suppression activities. Even before the fire we had structural integrity issues with the building. The fire has only made the structure that more unstable.”
Due to the extent of the fire spread throughout the building and the size of the structure,” Williams said he expects fire crews to be on site most of Sunday.
“The inability to enter the structure will delay the actual extinguishment of the fire.”
Heavy equipment will be arrived to removed the walls to gain access to areas that are burning.
Williams said there is no risk to public safety with what was burning in the southern block.
“We do have some smoke emanating from the wood that is burning so all it is is structure timber that is burning, so there is no risk to the public.”
Fire crews also placed booms along the Ganaraska River south of the viaduct and a company was called in to deal with the collected debris.
Fire crews from Cobourg and Hamilton Township assisted Port Hope Fire and Emergency Services.
Williams said the Office of the Fire Marshal will be attending to hopefully determine the cause of the fire.
The building had been abandoned for several years with no electricity to the building.
Cavan Street in the area of the fire is temporarily closed until further notice.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
