A condominium housing complex set to open in a few months was heavily damaged by fire in Quinte West on Friday, February 21, 2025.
Damage to the 29-unit condominium project could reach four-million dollars.
A sign on the front lawn of the building said they are Klemencic Homes that are one and two bedroom condos starting from $300,000.
City of Quinte West Fire Chief John Whelan said there were multiple 9-1-1 calls received at approximately 5:30 a.m. reporting a fire at the three-storey condominium complex on 2nd Dug Hill Road south of County Road 2 in Trenton.
When fire crews arrived flames were coming from the second floor of the north side of the multi-unit complex and spread to the roof area.
Whelan said crews initially performed an interior attack on the fire, but as the fire progressed it was strictly a defensive fire from the outside.
With temperatures reaching -15 Celsius, Whelan spoke with Today’s Northumberland shortly before 11 a.m. and said it is both hard on the firefighters and the equipment.
“There are a lot of challenges. My main focus is to have our people safe and we have to be very cautious of slips and falls. Some of our firefighters were covered in ice and we had to rotate them in and out of our rehab to thaw out.”
In frigid temperatures and added challenge is hose lines freezing.
“Any Fire Chief will tell you it’s not the best conditions when it’s -15.”
With firefighters attacking the blaze from the exterior, another challenge is getting at the fire.
“It’s a heavy (fire) load and the smoke is extreme.”
In the early stages, Whelan said the firewall/break did help firefighters to an extent, but some of the doors to the building were open at the time of the fire allowing it to spread to other parts of the building.
“We have extension to other units and into the ceiling.”
When firefighters couldn’t access the fire from the outside, a heavy piece of machinery was brought to the scene to tear down the north end.
Shortly after part of the north wall was taken down by equipment at 12:20 p.m., the fire drastically changed due to factors including a south wind.
“Soon as we started to get to the hot spots, that fueled the fire. Very rapidly the fire spread through the fire walls that were supposed to be in place in the building, but were not and quickly went out of control.”
All three stations of Quinte West responded along with assistance from the City of Belleville Fire Department, Prince Edward County and CFB 8 Wing Trenton.
“I have to say, with our Hastings and Prince Edward Mutual-Aid, I’ve had calls from Chiefs all in the area asking if we needed any assistance along with Chief Thompson from Brighton. It’s gratifying to know if we need the help it’s there.”
Fire crews were on scene for approximately 14-hours clearing the scene at approximately 7:30 p.m.
Whelan said although the building was heavily damaged, he is extremely grateful for the efforts of all the firefighters from Quinte West and surrounding areas battling the blaze in extreme temperatures.
Firefighters that initially entered the building noticed space heaters near the area of origin on the second floor. Contractors were working inside the building on Thursday evening, but the cause has not been confirmed and The Office of the Fire Marshal has been called in to investigate.
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
