Downtown Sault fire investigation continues

Traffic is again flowing along Queen Street East in downtown Sault Ste. Marie as investigators continue to look for the cause of Wednesday’s fire that closed the road most of the day.

The fire broke out around 8:30 a.m. at 647 Queen St. East. The structure was said to be unoccupied at the time and Sault Fire Services said no one was hurt.

A section of Queen Street was closed and at least one area business was advised to close for the day due to fear the structure could collapse.

Sault Fire Chief Peter Johnson said that risk is no longer present.

“We took protective measures yesterday to ensure the scene was safe,” Johnson said.

“There was some work that had to be done later in the day to do that. But once Queen Street was open, the barricades were up so people can still get by. Not worried about collapse at all.”

As far as the investigation goes, Johnson said there is no update and there’s been no word on whether investigators are treating the fire as suspicious.

Frank Bentrovato, the city’s coordinator of building inspections and bylaw enforcement, said once the fire department releases the scene, the city will investigate and issue an unsafe order on the property if needed.

That order, if issued, would require the owner to repair or demolish the building.

If the owner fails to comply with the order, Bentrovato said further action would be taken by the city. But he said the owner of the property has been cooperating with the city.

o    Download our app to get local alerts on your device

o    Get the latest local updates right to your inbox