Hess Variety blaze causes $500,000 damage

A fire caused by unattended cooking ripped through a commercial/residential building in downtown Hamilton leaving half-a-million dollars damage to the structure.

Firefighters battled the blaze in the second floor of the Hess Variety building from above Friday night.

The fire department was called to the two-storey structure at the corner of Hess and Market streets (south of King Street West) for the blaze just after 10 p.m., assistant deputy chief Shawn De Jager said in an email.

First-arriving crews reported smoke and flames from the roofline," De Jager said.

Occupants of the home reported to firefighters that everyone left the building safely.

Firefighters set up a ladder truck, with aerial hoses to battle the blaze from above, De Jager said.

The fire spread through the walls of the second storey residential unit to the roof area and extended to the neighbouring structure.

Photos from the scene showed firefighters working on a ladder over the corner building which houses the convenience store and the attached home, just south on Hess Street North.

The bulk of the fire" had been extinguished by about 11 p.m., De Jager said, but firefighters remained on scene for some time working putting out hotspots and reducing any possible spread.

By midnight, 12 fire units had been dispatched to the blaze.

Tenants reported the fire was caused by unattended cooking," De Jager said in a Saturday morning update. He estimated damage at $500,000.

No one was injured in the blaze.

Jeremy Kemeny is a Hamilton-based web editor at The Spectator. Reach him via email: jkemeny@thespec.com