Hamilton police say a fire in Stoney Creek early Thursday morning, which caused significant damage estimated to be over $2 million, has been deemed suspicious.
Hamilton firefighters located the source of the smoke at just before 3:30 a.m., at the Roua plus Food Mart in the plaza at 140 Centennial Pkwy. North.
“We had a well and involved fire in one of the units – the food store,” said Hamilton Fire Chief David Cunliffe. “Crews quickly made entry into the store and started initial interior attack, when they went in the building they were met with heavy smoke, a large amount of flame and extreme heat.”
Cunliffe said in a statement that as firefighters went deeper into the store they found that the roof had partially collapsed.
Extensive overhaul of the market was needed to extinguish hot spots that were continuing to flare up.
They were able to gain control of the fire, containing it within the food market unit.
There are no injuries reported at this time.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, and the Office of the Fire Marshal has been notified.
“We’re estimating it to be at least a couple of million dollars in damage — that is an estimate and we could believe it could go higher depending on the level of damage to the rest of the stores,” said Cunliffe.
The Hamilton Fire chief said the unit that housed the food market sustained extensive fire damage to the interior and the roof area. Adjacent units to the fire unit have sustained significant water and smoke damage.
A statement from Cunliffe later says the damage to the unit and the adjacent units is estimated to be in excess of $2 million.
Hamilton police are expected to maintain care and control of the scene.
The Hamilton Fire Department will remain on the scene performing a fire watch.
Also at the plaza is a coffee shop, a walk-in clinic, and Big Al’s Pet Supercentres, which houses several small animals like parrots, ferrets and fish.
“I saw the fire this morning on Facebook and just came over to make sure all the animals were okay,” said Chris Shantz, an employee at Big Al’s Pet Supercentres, “and to make sure I still had a job in a couple of days.”
According to a statement from Big Al’s Pet Supercentres, the business was impacted by the smoke and will be closed until further notice, but luckily no animals were injured or affected during the fire.
The far right lane on Centennial Parkway northbound is restricted at Delawana Drive.