Fire hits secondary building at St. Jacobs Farmers' Market

CTV Kitchener: Fire at St. Jacobs Market A roofing crew is being blamed for a fire that caused significant damage to part of the St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market. Max Wark explains.

A busy market day at the St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market was disrupted Thursday when fire broke out in one of the market buildings.

Hundreds of people were forced out of Peddlar's Village around 1:30 p.m., after black smoke was seen rising from the building.

Woolwich Fire deputy chief Dale Martin said that fire crews could see the smoke as they moved into the area.

Once they got to the building, they cut open parts of its roof to determine where the fire was.

“It wasn’t burning down in the area where the customers were. It was up between the ceiling and the roofline," Martin said.

Firefighters battle a fire at the Peddlar's Village building in the St. Jacobs Farmers' Market on Thursday, May 26, 2016. (Mike Schmiedtke / Twitter)

By mid-afternoon, Martin said, crews had determined that the fire was caused by a propane torch being used by a roofing crew. Further details remained under investigation.

The full extent of damage from the fire was not immediately known. No injuries were reported.

Martin said that firefighters expected to remain on the property for much of the day, due to the building having several ceilings – making it difficult to determine exactly where the fire had spread.

“Until we know for sure that we have it (safe), we’ll keep everybody out,” he said.

Although there is quite a bit of damage from smoke and water, officials say the building is salvageable and likely will not need to be demolished.

In 2013, the main building of the market was destroyed by fire. The cause of that fire was never officially determined.

A rebuilt main building – featuring wider aisles and a sprinkler system – opened in 2015.

The market is known across Canada as a tourist destination for its hundreds of vendors, who offer everything from meat and produce to baked goods and artisan creations.

Peddlar’s Village is a separate part of the market. It houses a variety of food, art and memorabilia vendors.

Unlike the original market building, it does contain sprinklers – which were activated when the fire began.

“The building’s still standing. You can attribute that to sprinklers,” Martin said.

As firefighters battled the fire at Peddlar’s Village, it appeared to be business as usual at the main market building.

People who were in Peddlar’s Village when the fire began said that fire alarms went off inside the building and the evacuation appeared to be calm and orderly.

Paulina Ramirez says she learned of the fire when a security guard told her and her friend to leave the building.

“I heard the fire alarm right away, and I’m thinking ‘Not again,’” she said.

“When we stepped back, then we noticed black smoke going off the building.”

The fire also caused activity to stop at the nearby Ontario Livestock Exchange.