Early morning fire causes significant damage to Undermount Avenue home

An early-morning fire caused extensive damage to a home on Undermount Avenue, just south of Aberdeen Avenue.

Emergency services were called to the blaze at 29 Undermount Ave. shortly before 5 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 3.

The first firefighters on scene found a two-storey home with smoke and flames visible on all levels, the Hamilton Fire Department said.

Residents had already fled the home without injury.

There was a partial ceiling collapse shortly after emergency services arrived, so firefighters first worked to tackle the fire from the exterior. Once the fire was under control crews did an interior search and extinguished the remainder of the fire.

The fire department was on scene for several hours, including remaining to put out hot spots.

The building sustained significant damage," the fire department said.

The preliminary cause of the fire appears to from improperly discarded smoking materials on an exterior deck." The dollar loss is still being determined.

The fire department noted that the fast and aggressive actions of the responding crews prevented the fire from spreading to neighbouring properties.

Nicole O'Reilly is a crime and justice reporter at The Spectator. noreilly@thespec.com