Fire on Barton Street East causes ‘millions of dollars’ in damage

The Office of the Fire Marshal has been called to investigate a large industrial fire in Stoney Creek early Saturday that clouded nearby streets in a haze of smoke and left millions of dollars worth of damage in its path.

Hamilton firefighters were called to 2555 Barton St. E., a commercial truck repair business between Lake Avenue North and Covington Steet, just after 8:30 a.m. for reports of a structure fire.

Crews were met with a rapidly growing fire that caused portions of the two-storey structure's roof to collapse, said Hamilton Fire Chief Dave Cunliffe in a news release.

It would take more than four hours to bring the blaze under control.

There were no injuries.

Cunliffe pegged the damage of the blaze - whose cause is yet known - to be in the millions of dollars." He said crews were able to protect two other buildings in proximity to 2555 Barton.

Residents living in the area between Lake Covington were asked to shelter in place and keep all doors and windows closed as smoke clouded the neighbourhood.

Crews are expected to remain on scene until Saturday evening to extinguish hotspots.

Police will keep Barton between Lake and Centennial Parkway North closed in both directions overnight.

Sebastian Bron is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sbron@thespec.com