Update 5:55 AM Saturday:
“Totalled” is how Thunder Bay Fire Rescue describes a building at Bay Street and Machar Avenue where crews are still working on a fire this morning.
The blaze broke out at the Maki Block Friday afternoon, and firefighters were called in around five o’clock.
Platoon Chief Harold Spithoff says battling it has been a long slow process, covering the Bay and Algoma neighbourhood in smoke.
“The fire had established itself very well in the roof of the building, and was hard to get to from the top or the bottom, so we had to let the fire basically work its way out so we could gain access to the fire,” he explains.
Spithoff indicates they will be there well into today.
The roads are still closed off in the area of Bay, Algoma and Machar.
Around seven o’clock, a man at the scene claimed to be a tenant of upper floor of the building, saying he had lost everything. He wasn’t home when it broke out.
This is a developing story and will be updated when more information is available.
