‘This building doesn’t deserve this’: former Kent Brewery catches fire again

For the second time in three days, the former Kent Brewery on Ann Street in London, Ont. caught fire. Brent Lale reports.

For the second time in three days, the former Kent Brewery on Ann Street in London, Ont. caught fire.

“This building doesn’t deserve this,” said heritage advocate Anna Maria Valastro, who is a member of the North Talbot Neighbourhood Association. “It’s one of the most historical sites in the city.”

Sunday morning, the fire crews were dispatched to the vacant structure around 2:30 a.m.

It took four fire engines and an aerial truck to battle the blaze.

“Our first crew arriving on scene had a fully involved structure fire,” said Platoon Chief Gary Mosburger of the London Fire Department.

“They took defensive actions initially to knock down the majority of the fire. From that point a decision was made to enter certain parts of the property under the circumstances that the building was planned to be demolished. We wanted to make sure that anybody that would possibly be inside, that we could rescue them and get them out.”

They were able to successfully put out the fire.

Valastro expressed her disappointment Sunday morning when looking at what has become of the property.

She fought for years to preserve the brewery and the former brewmasters house, but council ultimately allowed York Developments to demolish the building with a promise to preserve some of the heritage features in a new 23-story student-oriented residential building planned for the site.

Sunday morning, CTV News witnessed and spoke to a person who admitted to taking copper from the building.

“If you’re homeless and you need a warm place, like, can you blame them for breaking into, an empty building?” said Valastro.

“The city really needs to protect the heritage buildings that are being left to rot. I feel really sad about the Kent Brewery because it really deserved to be protected for its heritage and for its history, yet the city just let this happen.”

Former tenant of Anne Street and George Street Skylar Farr told CTV News in an email Sunday, before they were displaced homeless had been trying to break into houses on the property. She was “not surprised” to wake up to the news 197 Ann St. had caught fire.

This was the second blaze in the span of three days after fire fighters were called to the site Friday afternoon.

With the building in the process of demolition, fire inspectors decided not to proceed with an investigation.

Until it is knocked down, Mosburger advises people to stay out.

|You could have floorboards that are out that go right out down into the basement and railings that are no longer part of a staircase,” he said. “There’s lots of hazards that could be there like live electrical, plumbing and that sort of thing that can be a concern for people that are inside.”

Soon to be rubble, Valastro took one last look at the historic site which was built in 1859.

“It’s sad and pathetic and it shouldn’t happen,” she Valastro.