Updated on July 24 at 4:40 p.m.: An Innisfil auto-repair shop has been heavily damaged by a blaze that broke out around lunchtime Wednesday.
Innisfil Fire and Rescue Services firefighters, South Simcoe police and County of Simcoe paramedics responded to the incident, which happened in a separated garage on a property used for both residential and business purposes along Innisfil Beach Road, just west of the 20th Sideroad, July 24 around noon.
The garage is operated by Kyle Smith. He had just stepped away from work and gone inside the home with his school-aged daughter to make lunch when the fire started. His wife, Melissa, works as a hairstylist from a converted shipping container that is also located on the property.
She was with a client when they noticed black smoke blowing by. The plume itself was billowing into the sky and at its height could be seen from nearby Alcona.
As Melissa stepped out of her workspace and started screaming for Kyle, her daughter and their small dog — all of whom were still safe inside the house — the client and neighbours down the street called 911.
“I have no words right now,” she said, tearing up and surrounded by relatives later in the afternoon. “We are safe, thank God. We’re grateful for our lives right now. I don’t know where to start. It’s a nightmare, but those things can be replaced.”
No one was injured and the garage is insured. But it was a tough fire to put out because this section of the roadway does not have working hydrants.
It took crews from five tankers, three pumps and one aerial truck a couple hours to stamp out all the hot spots.
“Building is unsafe and has partial collapse,” Fire Chief Brent Thomas told InnisfilToday. “Fire is now out. Not suspicious.”
Building and content damage is estimated at $750,000.
