Two people were sent to hospital with smoke inhalation and a cat and dog were reported dead after a fire broke out in a second-floor apartment above a St. Catharines convenience store Sunday morning.
At 8 a.m., firefighters were called to 111 Facer St. at the corner of Grantham Avenue following multiple calls to 911.
Firefighting crews arrived to find a fire on the second floor of the building, which has a convenience store on the ground floor and multiple apartments above.
St. Catharines fire Chief Dave Upper said most of the residents were able to evacuate the building before firefighters arrived, though one had to be rescued.
Niagara Emergency Medical Services paramedics took two people to hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation and another person was treated at the scene.
Firefighters also recovered a dead dog and cat and called Humane Society of Greater Niagara to remove the remains.
Upper said there were no working smoke alarms at the site.
Five fire trucks and 19 firefighters responded and had the fire largely under control by about 8:30 a.m. Firefighters called stop loss — a term used when all hot spots are out and the fire is no longer causing any damage — at about 10:30 a.m., Upper said.
In all, about $500,000 in fire, smoke and water damage was caused. Neither the residential tenants nor the ground-floor business operator are able to return as all utilities have been shut down.
“The fire was significant,” Upper said. “They cannot be open for business and it’s not habitable.”
Canadian Red Cross has temporarily relocated four of the tenants, while a fifth was able to make alternative arrangements.
St. Catharines Fire and Emergency Services is still investigating the fire and was expected to remain on scene for most of the day Monday and possibly into Tuesday, Upper said. The Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal has also been called in, he said.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
“That’ll be part of the investigative piece,” Upper said.