Cause of fire at former St. Catharines Standard ‘undetermined’

Investigators have officially classified the cause of fires at two buildings in downtown St. Catharines in December as “undetermined.”

Over the past several weeks police and fire service investigators in Niagara have worked together to determine the cause of fires that destroyed a building located at 9 Queen St. on Dec. 26 and a building located at 17 Queen St. on Dec. 27.

One of those buildings was the former St. Catharines Standard newspaper building.

Authorities say the buildings had been vacant at the time of the fire with no active utilities. Fire officials continued to investigate after discovering “some form of combustible fuel source” used to ignite the fires.

In a release sent to CHCH News, St. Catharines Fire Chief David Upper says, “The investigation determined that the fires were separate and distinct incidents and were not the result of fire between the two buildings.”

He continues, “Based on the available information, we believe the fires originated on the upper floors of each of the respective buildings, but due to the extent of structural damage and demolition required to ensure the fires were completely out, a definitive point of origin couldn’t be determined for either fire.”

The information gathered in the investigation has led officials to classify the cause of the fires as undetermined.

Queen Street and William Street have been reopened to traffic with no lane restrictions. Access to the sidewalks adjacent to the sites of the fires remain closed.

Despite coming to a conclusion, Upper is encouraging anyone with information relevant to this investigation to contact police at 905-688-4111.

Those wishing to provide information anonymously can do so through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or on their website.

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