Fire crews and police responded to a blaze in a townhouse unit on McNamara Street on Monday afternoon. The call came in around 3 p.m. for a fire in the 500 block of McNamara Street, just off McKeown Avenue in the city’s west end. Officials said firefighters arrived to find smoke and flames visible from one of the middle units. Concern over attic spread North Bay Fire Chief Jason Whiteley said crews moved quickly to address concerns about the fire spreading to the attic or neighbouring units. “Crews arrived on scene and they had smoke and flame visible coming from one of the middle units there,” Whiteley said, speaking to media at the scene. “We were very concerned that the fire may have got into the attic and would spread across, depending on the amount of fire breaks in there. Right now, it looks like we’ve got the fire knocked down and under control. We are still searching and making sure that there’s no extension in the attic or into any of the other adjacent units.” Whiteley said fighting fires in row houses can be difficult if flames reach common or void spaces. “If it gets into the common spaces and has the ability to travel like in the attic here, it could be quite difficult because it will spread very quickly,” he said. “But it looks like we got up into the attic very quickly in the adjacent units to make sure that there hasn’t spreading right now. We don’t, it doesn’t look like it’s extended, but we’re still keeping a tight eye on everything.” No injuries Firefighters determined the tenant was not home at the time and gave an all-clear on the building. “As of right now, the tenant was not home from what we understand. We do have an all clear on the building, so I don’t think there were any animals as well,” he said. Whiteley also confirmed there were no reported injuries. Emergency response on scene A heavy police presence was on scene, which Whiteley said was not requested by fire crews but came as officers responded with available resources. Police and paramedics assisted with traffic control and stood by for firefighter safety. McNamara Street remained closed to motor vehicle traffic as of 5 p.m. Hydro crews were on site working to disconnect power to the building. “We have Hydro here,” Whiteley said. “They were just actively working on disconnecting either power to the unit or maybe through that whole section of units. I’m not 100 per cent sure what Hydro was able to do. But we will be, we always disconnect power to buildings for the safety of firefighters.” Whiteley said he had not yet been inside the unit but confirmed there was significant damage. “I haven’t been in, but there is, there is significant damage by the sounds of it,” he said. Heavy damage was visible to the rear of the building as crews continued their work. The complex is part of the Nipissing District Housing Corporation. Investigation underway Officials said it was too early to speculate on the cause of the blaze. “We haven’t even started our investigation yet,” Whiteley said. “We’re going to be here for several hours I would think now, with cleanup and investigation.” With files from CTVNorthernOntario.ca journalist Eric Taschner
