The employees of three downtown businesses, including one celebrating an anniversary, are without a place to work after flames and smoke made their way through a building in downtown Moncton.
READ MORE: ‘An awful feeling’: Two people injured in Moncton house fire
Firefighters were called to the building on the corner of Main and Cameron streets early Thursday morning shortly after 2 a.m.
“The sprinkler system worked, it did its job, but a lot of smoke, a lot of heat,” said fire investigator Steve Richardson. “So it took time to find our way around to see where the hotspots were and they got it under control, and kept the damage… somewhat minimized.”
For the owner of Cumming’s Auto Indulgence, however, though the building still stands, the fire ruined the business’s 15th anniversary.
The owner declined an interview with reporters due to being shaken up by the fire, but said he had brought a cake that day to mark the special occasion.
He is now left to look for a temporary location to set up shop for himself and his 10 employees.
Precision Dent Repair and Flawless Automotive Paint Repair, which also operate out of the building, suffered extensive damage to their operations as well.
Richardson said though they believe the fire did not compromise the structural integrity of the building, there was still a lot of damage.
“They may need engineers to come in and have a look at it to make sure structurally it hasn’t been damaged, no fire got through the roof but theres a lot of heat in there, and a its a steel roof so you gotta make sure that its safe to repair.” said Richardson
The cause of the fire is still unknown and firefighters are continuing their investigation.
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