Major blaze in downtown Bowmanville leaves historic building badly damaged

CBC News

· Posted: Mar 06, 2025 11:16 AM EST | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

One idiosyncratic is unaccounted for aft a occurrence tore done a historical gathering successful downtown Bowmanville early Thursday destroying homes and businesses, exigency services successful Durham say.

Firefighters were called to the code connected King Street W. astir midnight and arrived to find a blaze connected the 3rd floor, said Clarington Fire Chief Dave Speed. 

The gathering is astatine slightest a period aged and has businesses astatine thoroughfare level and residential units connected the 2nd and 3rd stories, Speed said.

The occurrence rapidly dispersed to the attic and firefighters were forced to conflict the blaze from the exterior, according to Speed. The gathering has been renovated galore times implicit the decades, which made it astir intolerable for crews to scope immoderate areas effectively, helium added.

"It's a spot of a maze successful there. So the occurrence tin find a spot and question done the gathering precise quickly," helium told reporters astatine the scene.

Twenty-four people were evacuated from their homes and 1 idiosyncratic is inactive unaccounted for. It's not wide if that idiosyncratic was wrong the gathering astatine the clip of the fire, said Durham constabulary Const. Emily Mitchell. 

"It's unknown, the whereabouts of the idiosyncratic astatine this time. It volition beryllium an ongoing portion of the investigation," Mitchell said.

Durham's exigency societal services is moving with the Red Cross to find impermanent arrangements for residents forced from their homes by the blaze, the Municipality of Clarington said successful a statement.

Multiple businesses connected the archetypal level of the gathering were besides severely damaged, Speed said.

Mark Brown's furnishings store was spared by the flames, but helium told CBC Toronto he's present dealing with flood damage.

"I would accidental 80 per cent of our store has been flooded, fume harm is heavy, 1 of our chamber galleries is astir apt wholly gone," helium said. 

The Ontario Fire Marshal was astatine the country of the occurrence Thursday and is expected to stay determination for respective days to investigate. 

Several streets successful the country stay closed and drivers are encouraged to debar the area.