Four days after fire caused significant damage to a building at the St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market, affected vendors have yet to be allowed inside to remove all their contents.
The Peddlar’s Village building at the market was damaged, though not destroyed, by last Thursday’s fire.
While the fire itself is believed to have been contained to a small area, smoke and water caused more significant issues inside the building.
As a result, some construction work will have to take place before the building can reopen.
Marcus Shantz of Mercedes Corp., which owns the market, said Monday that he had no exact timetable for normal operations resuming at Peddlar’s Village.
“Hopefully (it will be) weeks, not months,” he said.
The main building of the market complex was destroyed by fire in 2013. Following that fire, sprinklers – which were not present in the destroyed building – were installed in Peddlar’s Village. Fire officials have said that the sprinklers played a major role in stopping the fire from spreading.
Damage to the building itself is estimated at $150,000. Taking into account goods that were for sale inside at the time, the total loss could reach the neighbourhood of $1 million.
