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A 140-year-old building in downtown St. Thomas once home to a restaurant, gym and apartments will need to be torn down after a fire ripped through it Thursday morning, the local fire department said, displacing nine people who lived there.
The call came in shortly before 7 a.m., and crews arrived within six minutes to begin putting out the fire, said Dave Gregory, the Fire Chief at St. Thomas Fire Department.
“At that point, they went into rescue mode,” he said. “There were people trying to get out.”
The crew used ground ladders to rescue two people from the front-facing windows on the upper floors, Gregory said, and helped other residents get to safety using the fire escapes at the back of the building.
At least three people were taken to hospital, but none were seriously injured, according to Kim Destun, the city’s Chief Fire Prevention Officer.
One student from Monsignor Morrison Catholic Elementary School was among the families displaced in the fire. The school quickly set up a donation drive for the student’s family.
“Unfortunately, the family has lost literally everything. But they are they are safe, they are healthy. And they are doing well,” said Emily Butler, the school’s principal. “Our community is just rallying around the family to try to support them.”
The school office is collecting gift cards until the end of the day tomorrow, Butler said, adding that plenty have already been coming in and she was able to bring some of the donations to the family on Thursday.
Roads still closed as demolition begins
Due to the structural damage the building sustained in the fire, it needs to come down, Gregory said, adding that the demolition work has already begun with crews taking care not to damage the buildings on either side.
The building was constructed in 1882, Gregory said.
The ground floor of the building was home to Lucky Kitchen Buffet as well as a gym.
Yurek Pharmacy & Home Healthcare is located immediately beside it, and while the pharmacy is in a separate building and remains standing, the shop closed for the day. The level of damage was unknown, the owners said in an update to customers on Thursday.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, Gregory said.
The 500-block of Talbot Street remains closed as work on the building continues. There are also closures on Mondamin, Hiawatha and Curtis streets.
The roads are likely to remain closed until the evening, the St. Thomas Police Service said.