People living near a stubborn, smoky auto repair shop fire were allowed back home at around 6 pm Wednesday.
A number of businesses and homes were evacuated after the intense blaze broke out on Childers St. in east-end London.
Around 11am Wednesday, emergency crews were called to the industrial area near Egerton and Brydges to respond to the fire that quickly spread through the small business.
By the early afternoon, Actions Auto Repair on Childers St. was gutted. When first-responders arrived, black smoke was already pouring out of the front of the shop as flames spread through the building.
Just after 3pm, firefighters and police asked people working in buildings to the east of the fire to board LTC buses to stay out of the smoke. That evacuation notice was extended to residents living two blocks to the east of the fire. Fire officials say the call was made with “an abundance of caution” because smoke from the fire could be sucked into air systems of nearby buildings. Just before 6pm, the evacuation notice was lifted however Childers St. is closed until further notice.
The City of London offered evacuated residents shelter at the Carling Heights Community Centre on Elizabeth Street.
London Fire Department Spokesperson Rick Jefferson says witnesses reported the fire started when a worker was removing a fuel pump from a hoisted vehicle and raw fuel splashed onto a hot engine block. Jefferson says everyone in the building got out safely, but the shop is destroyed.
Jefferson says the building was pulled down with heavy equipment so the fire could be extinguished.
The Ministry of the Environment is on scene to test for toxic runoff in the sewer system and for toxins in the air.
Reporter Avery Moore
via BlackburnNews.com
