Investigators were back at Victoria Common on Wednesday – for the first time, digging through the rubble left behind after fire destroyed two rows of townhouses.
The fire struck early Tuesday morning at the development site on St. Leger Street in Kitchener’s north end, but once it was suppressed, fire crews’ efforts were around stabilizing the site and making the remains of the buildings safe for them to enter.
“We’ve just started the preliminary part of the investigation,” chief fire prevention officer Tom Ruggle said Wednesday morning.
A total of 17 townhouses were affected by the fire.
“This is probably the largest residential fire that we’ve had, in that it’s affected so many units,” said Ruggle.
Most of the 17 remained under construction – one of the two rows of townhouses was only at the bricking stage – but three units were occupied.
All people inside the units were able to escape before the fire spread, and some are now staying with family.
The first few hours of investigation didn’t turn up any signs of a suspicious cause to the fire, Ruggle said.
Jeremy Kuivenhoven, a spokesperson for developer Losani Homes, said he wasn’t aware of any safety issues at Victoria Common.
“We run a very, very tight and safe site. We’ve taken every safety precaution that we possibly can,” he told CTV News.
Ruggle said investigators would initially focus on “methodically” searching the rubble and debris, and could have their work at the site complete by Wednesday night.
