ARTHUR - Wellington North firefighters were kept busy on Saturday afternoon (July 21) fighting a fire at the Tim Hortons restaurant at the corner of Highway 6 and Wellington Road 109 in Arthur.
The fire call came in at approximately 3:45 p.m., with firefighters from both the Arthur and Mount Forest stations of Wellington North Fire Service responding, along with Wellington County OPP and Guelph-Wellington EMS.
"The occupant said that they went into the electrical room and there was heavy smoke, and they called the fire department," said fire chief Dave Guilbault. "There was flame visible and heavy smoke when we arrived."
Firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the blaze. Guilbault said it appears the fire started in the electrical room and travelled through the ceiling.
"We haven't done our investigation yet, but we'll be looking into possible fire code violations," said the chief. "I'll be blunt about that. It shouldn't come from the electrical room across the ceiling."
Guilbault said that there were no injuries to firefighters or civilians.
"It was a tremendous job by everyone involved," he said. "I don't have to tell you that this is a busy, busy intersection. OPP did an amazing job of traffic control."
The fire chief said the staff at the restaurant were "great" in the situation.
"The staff here did everything right. They saw something wasn't right, called fire, and got everyone out of the building," said Guilbault. "They were great. Just an awesome job."
Samantha Savage, the supervisor on duty at the time of the fire, said the first thing they did was make sure everyone got out of the building.
"We couldn't see any flames, but you could smell it," she said. "First thing I thought is that we have to get everybody out. That's the first thing you've got to do, and take care of everything else later."
"People can't be replaced, but the other stuff can."
Guilbault said that the fire isn't being treated as suspicious.
"We're treating it as an electrical fire," he said.
The Ontario Fire Marshal's office has been contacted to investigate. Guilbault estimated the damage to the building is close to $1 million.
No information was available as of publication time on the immediate future of the restaurant, but Savage did say the Tim Hortons kiosk at 321 Smith St. in Arthur is open.
Link to original article in South Western Ontario.ca: Fire at Arthur Tim Hortons restaurant causes nearly $1 million in damage