Kingston Fire and Rescue was knocking down a fire on Princess Street on Thursday morning.
Crews were called to the scene shortly after 7:30 a.m.
Princess Street was blocked off at Wellington Street and King Street until about 11 a.m. while crews were still at the scene.
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Fire officials say the fire started behind modern primitive in the shared courtyard and footpath between The Toucan and Chez Piggy.
Mathew Freeman, a Toucan employee, witnessed the blaze at its peak.
“The whole, entire backside of the building was up in flames.”
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Freeman says that he could feel the heat radiating from the fire, even from down the alleyway.
A few blocks away at the Four Points by Sheraton, Sacha Thoman, who was visiting from Whitby, said she saw the smoke from her hotel room.
“I honestly thought it was between Chez Piggy and The Toucan, and I thought like ‘what is happening, is there some terrible fire, are people getting hurt?'” she says.
Luckily there were no injuries reported, but the damage to Modern Primitive and the vacant apartment above is extensive.
“The limestone can hold heat, so we had some really good radiating heat to the adjacent building,” says Delbert Blakney, the fire inspector at the scene.
The neighbouring store, Amanda’s House of Elegance, was spared from the flames, but did suffer from smoke damage.
“They may have to pack the entire store up, take it to another location, and then bring it back to us,” says Amanda Stewart, owner of the neighbouring shop.
“Otherwise the insurance company may say, okay, we’re gonna have to throw everything out.”
This all comes just months after a pipe burst in the home decor store, causing over $100,000 damage.
Stewart says the fire damage could be as high as $300,000.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Fire prevention officers remained on scene throughout the morning and Princess Street was reopened to vehicle traffic.
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