Five townhouses under construction in Bradford West Gwillimbury north of Toronto were destroyed by fire on Friday.
The call came in just before 5 a.m. at a construction site near Line 6 and Simcoe Road.
Fire crews from Bradford, Innisfil and New Tecumseth were all dispatched to the scene.
“The houses that were on fire were just at the framing stage. So they were under construction. There was no one living in them,” Fire Chief Kevin Gallant said.
“When the first crews got here, the two houses which were under construction were at the framing section, were fully involved and the fire spread from there to include five houses total.”
Authorities said a number of homes nearby were also evacuated as a precaution.
“Our concern at that point in time was to protect the exposures to all the new houses that have been built in the area and to evacuate the residents because we had embers falling from the sky,” Gallant said.
The fire was under control around 7 a.m. and no injuries have been reported.
South Simcoe police said the homes under construction were equipped with propane heaters inside.
“A lot of them had propane heaters inside. So that may be the cause,” Const. Rich Williams said. “Usually they stay on overnight so the workers can come in the morning and continue to work. So at this point and time, it’s one of the causes we’re looking at.”
There’s no official word on the cause of the blaze and the Ontario Fire Marshal has been notified.
-With a report from Cindy Pom
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