Massive fire at vacant St. Thomas factory an arson, police say

Matthew Trevithick · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 15, 2025 2:29 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 minutes ago

A large occurrence astatine a vacant, erstwhile mill gathering successful St. Thomas is being investigated arsenic an arson, constabulary said Tuesday.

The blaze broke retired Monday day astatine the erstwhile Weatherhead Company of Canada installation betwixt Inkerman Street and Woodworth Avenue.

The origin of the occurrence remains nether investigation, but constabulary said they had crushed to judge it to beryllium suspicious.

"There's nary electricity, there's nary hydro, there's nary water, there's nary utilities astatine each that tally to this location," said Samantha Wakefield, firm communications with St. Thomas police.

"We did have, and determination has been, calls for work successful that country of that gathering respective times implicit the past respective months for unwanted parties oregon trespassing calls."

Firefighters arrived to find dense flames and plumes of thick, achromatic smoke, which could beryllium seen from crossed the city.

"It was going beauteous bully erstwhile we arrived," said Shannon Ashton, occurrence prevention serviceman with the City of St. Thomas. 

"We did a antiaircraft onslaught ... Crews were determination moving each night. We're backmost connected the country determination currently, close now," she said precocious Tuesday morning.

Roughly 50 firefighters were connected scene, she said. "We initiated a afloat telephone back, which successful our satellite constitutes a leafage retired to everybody successful our occurrence hall, truthful they each travel back."

The gathering has been unoccupied for much than 20 years, a neighbour adjacent the spot told CBC News connected Monday. 

"There's been the unusual concern successful it erstwhile successful a while, for a mates of months present and there," Bob Dentrey said.

"[The fire] started successful the beforehand area, which would person been, astatine the time, the bureau area. With the upwind being retired of the west, it conscionable took close disconnected crossed the building."

Police remained astatine the country aboriginal Tuesday afternoon. Nolan and Inkerman Streets and Woodworth Avenue were closed to postulation for the investigation.

"We are specifically appealing to anyone who was walking on the bid tracks betwixt Woodworth Avenue and Balaclava Street betwixt 3:45 p.m. and 4:15 p.m. connected Monday," constabulary said successful a media release.

Wakefield clarified that the circumstantial callout was made arsenic radical often locomotion on the tracks connected ft and whitethorn person seen something, but it was not due to the fact that the occurrence was needfully linked to idiosyncratic connected the tracks astatine that time.

"That country specifically, and the neighbouring areas, are big to a batch of ft postulation betwixt those hours. There's a mates of simple schools successful the area, and our precocious schools driblet disconnected successful that country arsenic good via bus."

No injuries were reported successful the blaze. A harm estimation was not instantly available. The spot is presently listed for sale.