4 injured after large fire breaks out at Hernder Estate Winery in St. Catharines

Four people suffered minor injuries after a large fire broke out at a popular winery in Niagara, Ont., officials say.

In a tweet Saturday, St. Catharines Fire Services said a large fire was reported at Eighth Avenue Louth, east of Seventh Avenue.

The blaze broke out at Hernder Estate Winery at around 10 p.m. Crews asked the public to avoid the area while officials worked to control the fire.

St. Catharines Fire Services Chief Dave Upper told Global News that crews arrived on scene to find a “heavily involved fire” engulfing the front portion of the winery’s original barn.

The barn had been converted into a banquet hall and wine store.

Upper said St. Catharines Fire Crews and the service’s mutual aid partners were able to stop the fire before it reached the winery’s warehouse and production facility.

He said four civilians suffered minor burns and smoke inhalation and were transported to hospital.

According to Upper, crews remained on scene Sunday morning to put out any remaining hot spots and to pull apart the collapsed portion of the building.

He said the Ontario Office of the Fire Marshall has been notified, but that it is too early to determine the cause of the fire, or estimate how much damage it caused.

Upper said the incident is a “big loss for our community.”

“To lose this nostalgic and heritage piece,” he said. “Our hearts go out to the Hernder family and staff for this loss.”

In a press release Sunday, Niagara Police said due to the size of the fire and the number of crews attending the scene, officers closed a number of streets in the area.

Police said personnel are “maintaining a presence controlling the scene” on Sunday.

“Members of the public are requested to stay out of the area to minimize traffic congestion,” the release read.