No injuries were reported after a fire ripped through a three-story brick building in downtown Kitchener Saturday night.
The Kitchener Fire Department responded to the fire at the corner of Benton Street and St George Street around 6:30 p.m.
The building is divided into several apartments.
“[I was ] I was just sitting at home doing some work on my computer and I smelled smoke and I looked outside and saw smoke coming through my window,” said Connor Simpson, one of the residents of the building. “[I] went out to see what the hell was going on outside and everything on the second floor on that side was on fire.
The Kitchener Fire Department is fighting a fire at the corner of Benton Street and St. George Street. (Chris Thomson/CTV Kitchener)
The fire caused Waterloo Regional Police to close Queen Street from Courtland Avenue to Church Street. St. George Street was also closed from Benton Street to Cedar Street southbound.
Approximately 10 fire engines, including an Ariel truck, were called to the scene.
“It took them a while to assess the situation — they didn’t start watering until probably about 7:15 — and they’ve been watering it for a while now, but there were people coming into the building almost immediately,” Kitchener resident Dan Cardy said , who lives nearby.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
As fire crews battled the blaze, Kitchener Wilmot Hydro reported an outage in the area affecting 1,350 customers.
The outage began at 7:45 p.m
Kitchener Wilmot Hydro reported an outage in the area affecting 1,350 customers. (Kitchener Wilmot Hydro)
On Sunday, July 10, police said power had been restored to the area.
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