Fire destroys former school in Elliot Lake

The Elliot Lake Fire Department spent much of Wednesday dealing with a fire at a vacant school building that broke out last night on Roman Avenue.

Fire crews got the call just before 10:30 p.m. and officials said Wednesday they are still working to get rid of hot spots and ensuring no one was inside.

The Elliot Lake Fire Department spent much of Wednesday dealing with a fire at a vacant school building that broke out last night on Roman Avenue. (Photo from video)

City officials said the former school, which has been vacant for many years, suffered extensive damage in the fire.

“We were dispatched at 10:21 last night," said fire chief John Thomas.

"Upon arrival, we had heavy smoke and fire conditions at the rear of the building. Due to the extreme fire conditions last night, we decided to pull the crews out and go into a defensive attack.”

Thomas said there's no evidence anyone was injured at this point, but it's still unclear whether anyone was inside at the time of the fire.

The back doors of the building were open when crews arrived.

The Elliot Lake Fire Department spent much of Wednesday dealing with a fire at a vacant school building that broke out last night on Roman Avenue. (Photo from video)

"Upon arrival, crews did notice that the building was not secure," Thomas said.

"So due to the conditions last night, crews weren't able to complete a primary search for a building … So we're going to continue a search there once we have the equipment in to make the area safe”

At this time, the Ontario Fire Marshalls office is not involved.

"The Elliot Lake Fire Department will be conducting an investigation to see what caused the fire," Thomas said.

"If we do deem it to be arson, the Ontario Fire Marshal's Office will be notified and they'll possibly come in to do an investigation for themselves."

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A developer from Waterloo recently received a zoning approval from the city to proceed with site plan control for apartments and townehouses on the property.

A damage estimated has yet to be established.