The Carpet One building at Davis Drive and Main Street has been left with significant damage following a fire early this morning.
Flames were visible when emergency responders arrived on the scene following a 911 call at about 2 a.m. June 8, York Regional Police Const. Amy Boudreau said.
The incident report from Central York Fire Services (CYFS) said when crews arrived the flames were visible and "fire rapidly breached the roof."
Newmarket resident Graham Coulter said he was driving west on Davis when he saw the flames at about 2:15 a.m. He pulled into neighbouring Tannery parking lot to watch.
He "saw the fire basically just start to grow, reached what looked like 100 feet in the air.”
After a few minutes, he drove around the block and down Penn Avenue, around the back to see which building it was. He was concerned it might be the heritage buildings on the corner currently being renovated.
“It was a massive, massive fire,” he said. “They were dousing it for a good 20 minutes that we were there for.”
The fire was eventually brought under control by Central York Fire Services crews, and Boudreau said there was no damage to any surrounding buildings.
She said the building appeared to be vacant at the time of the fire, and no injuries have been reported. The building is a combination of commercial and residential space, however an initial search confirmed it was unoccupied at the time and CYFS said the residential space is believed to be uninhabited.
Police closed the intersection of Davis and Main overnight. As of 9 a.m., Main was fully re-opened and all eastbound lanes and one westbound lane of Davis has re-opened. Crews remain on scene, so there may be some ongoing traffic delays. The parking lot behind the building is completely closed.
At about 3:30 a.m., GO Transit's Barrie line posted on Twitter that there was a report of a fire investigation at the Newmarket Go Station, which is located just west of where the fire occurred. It said morning service might be affected. However, just after 4:30 a.m., it reported that the investigation was complete and GO service would run as scheduled.
The fire does not appear to be suspicious but the Ontario Fire Marshal is still investigating, Boudreau said.
Coulter shared pictures of the fire in a local Facebook group that showed flames coming from the upper levels of the building.
“At least it wasn’t the heritage buildings, although I do feel awful for the Carpet One people,” Coulter said.
He said he has lived in Newmarket for 25 years and the carpet store has the main intersection has been one of the town's fixtures.
“That’s been one of those things that’s always been there, with the mural on the side," he said.
Residents in the residential area north of the fire said their power went out or surged at around the same time as the fire and many believe it is related.
CYFS deployed six firetrucks, 24 fire fighters, and two chief officers to the scene. York Paramedic Services, York Regional Police and utility companies also attended. The Office of the Fire Marshal continues to investigate.
