Police and fire officials continue to investigate a large Monday morning blaze in Brockville, Ont., that destroyed a building police say was a clubhouse for the Outlaws Motorcycle Club and drove neighbours from their homes.
Deputy fire chief Chris Paul said it could be several weeks before officials determine the cause of the blaze.
“We have to get some samples back from the lab,” Paul said. “We also have some additional video footage that we’re trying to attain to assist the investigators with the whole process.”
Paul added that the Perth Street property has been handed back to the owner.
“They have the task of removing some of the valuables from the site,” he said. “Remediation of the property is going to be taking place over the next few weeks to bring down the rest of the structure and clean up the debris.”
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The house immediately next door is also slated for demolition.
Police tape around the site is also gone. But the windows are boarded up and the stench from the blaze remains in the air.
Area residents who were evacuated on Monday were allowed to return on Tuesday.
“You could literally hear the heat just cracking the windows,” Kyle Cassibo, a resident of nearby John Street, said in describing the fire.
Cassibo added that he’s just happy to be home and is thankful the damage to the neighbourhood wasn’t worse. “It could have been one house to another. This easily could have been $10 million worth of damage.”
Those sentiments were shared by Darin Evans, who lives on Brock Street. “Nobody got hurt in this whole entire matter. To me, that’s the biggest thing,” Evans said.
Like many, Evans is moving forward. “Hopefully, start getting the siding on our houses rebuilt and everything like that in the next couple of weeks. It’s just time to move on now,” he said.
Meanwhile, off-site police and fire investigators are making appeals to the public.
“If you saw anything or if you have anything that could help, whether it’s doorbell video footage or just your eyewitness evidence you could provide us, please come forward,” Brockville police Staff Sgt. Darryl Boyd said.