Officials investigating massive fire that destroyed 12 homes at Kitchener construction site
A dozen homes were destroyed in a fire at a Kitchener construction site on Tuesday evening.
The inital call came in around 7:50 p.m., and a couple hours later three fire trucks and aerial crews were still putting out flames on Beckview Drive near Huron and Fischer-Hallman Roads.
Fire prevention officer Richard Brooks told CTV News 12 homes that were under construction were destroyed, and another six are damaged.
Brooks says high winds caused the fire to spread quickly.
"It could've been a lot worse. It could've jumped the street. We already had exposure damage on buildings across the street," he said.
Area residents also had concerns of the fire spreading closer to their homes.
"I was afraid it was going to catch all the way down there and I said 'is it going to come across here? Are we going to be able to breathe?'" said Marie Erickson, who lives nearby.
No injuries have been reported, but damage estimates are over $1 million.
Crews will be on scene overnight watching for hot spots.
The Ontario Fire Marshal was originally called to the scene, but local fire officials said they've been called off.
The fire department said they left the scene and won't return for now, since there's nothing physical to investigate as everything has "burned to the ground."
Officials said there is a lot of video surveillance in the area, which they'll go through to determine if the fire is suspicious. They expect to receive that video by the end of Wednesday.
"I've never seen something so fast, like burnt so fast, and it was so large, like with the wind," said Kitchener resident Amanda McDonagh, who lives nearby. "It was just going to the next house, to the next house, to the next house."
Lirjon Ferizi and his sister, Erjona, were on their way to scene Wednesday as their parents bought one of the homes.
"We were supposed to move in in January a year later," Lirjon said. "It is sad, your family works so hard for something and you can see it going down to the ground."
"It had three bathrooms upstairs. I was excited to move into it, because I knew I was going to have my own bathroom up there," Erjona said.
Officials say the fire could've been a lot worse, as crews managed to control the blaze before it spread even further.
"If the fire had been any closer, this whole entire block could have gone up in flames," Brooks said.
With reporting from Jeff Pickel.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Asking rent prices up 9.3% across Canada, Ontario sees only decline: report
A new report says the average asking rent for a home in Canada in April was up 9.3 per cent compared with a year ago, while a slight month-over-month increase was also recorded for the first time since January.
Prince William says wife Kate is 'doing well'
Prince William said on Friday his wife Kate was 'doing well' in a rare public comment about the Princess of Wales as she undergoes preventative chemotherapy for cancer.
'I may have some nightmares:' Man survives being bitten by 2 sharks in Bahamas
A man who was bitten by two sharks in the Bahamas said Thursday he's 'thankful that I'm here' while sharing his story of survival.
Ontario coroner to investigate death of man who suffered cardiac arrest while waiting in ER
A provincial coroner will be investigating the death of 68-year-old David Lippert, who suffered a cardiac arrest while waiting in a crowded emergency room in Kitchener, Ont.
Magnitude 4.2 earthquake reported off Vancouver Island's west coast
A 4.2-magnitude earthquake was recorded west of Vancouver Island early Friday morning.
'Irate male' assaulted Newfoundland officers with block of cheese, police say
Police in Newfoundland say patrol officers were assaulted Thursday by a "very irate male" wielding a block of cheese.
Dashcam video shows terrifying near-miss on two-lane northern Ontario highway
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
Canadian Blood Services apologizes to LGBTQ2S+ community for discriminatory blood donation policy
Canada's longstanding blood donation policy that prevented sexually active men who have sex with men and some trans people from donating blood and plasma was harmful and discriminatory, Canadian Blood Services acknowledged on Friday, in issuing an apology to the LGBTQ2S+ community.