Fire causes $300,000 damage to east Hamilton building under renovation

Firefighters faced extreme cold conditions as they battled an early-morning blaze in east Hamilton that caused $300,000 in damage to a building under renovation.

The fire at 588 Barton St. E. - just west of Birch Avenue - was reported shortly after midnight on Saturday morning.

Firefighters arrived on scene and confirmed there was a fire taking place on the roof area of the building with fire and smoke visible on their arrival," Assistant Deputy Fire Chief Steve Welton said in a statement. Firefighters searched the property confirming that the building was clear of any occupants and observed the building to be under renovations."

Temperatures reached as low as -26 C with the wind chill Saturday morning as firefighters worked to put out the blaze, preventing it from spreading into the main interior and adjacent properties. No injuries were reported.

Firefighters responded as expected but they did so while also facing off with some very extreme cold climate conditions," said Welton.

The cause of the fire has not been determined and Welton says there is no indication it's linked to any of the 28 structure fires that occurred in the first 30 days of the year - a 16 per cent increase from the same time last year that Fire Chief Dave Cunliffe has called concerning."

Joanna Frketich is a health reporter at The Spectator. jfrketich@thespec.com