'We were devastated': Early morning fire destroys shop at Puslinch Lake
No injuries were reported after a large structure fire on Puslinch Lake Friday morning.
Cambridge, Puslinch, and North Dumfries fire departments were called to a shop on McClintock Drive around 4 a.m.
Officials with the Cambridge Fire Deptartment said the fire was fully involved when crews arrived and they had to use a defensive strategy to put it out.
The Cambridge Fire Deptartment issued a tweet at 6:01 a.m. that said Lake Road is closed and are asking drivers to avoid the area.
Crews were at the scene on Friday morning tearing down what was left of the building.
A witness said it was used as an equipment shed.
“By 5:00 they probably had at least eight to 10 trucks here and the blaze was just skyrocketing. It was going crazy,” said Kevin Waugh, who lives nearby.
The property is owned by the McClintock family, who said they were devastated to hear about the fire from officials on Friday morning.
“What can I say we are heartbroken. It’s a huge loss for us,” said Sherron McClintock.
The McClintocks are currently in Florida. That's where they got the text message early in the morning.
"It said please call me a soon as you can as soon as you can. It’s an emergency,” said McClintock.
So far they've only seen the burned rubble in pictures.
“Total shock. Unbelief. And then, we were devastated, because we realized how much stuff was in there,” said McClintock.
They plan to talk to their insurance company about the loss.
“We want answers. But we don’t know when that’s going to happen,” McClintock said.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
“They had heat and also electricity so they’re all things are going to look at,” said Brent Smith, the chief fire prevention officer with Puslinch Fire.
Damage is estimated at more than $400,000.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.