Stoney Creek plaza fire deemed suspicious by Hamilton police, $2M in damages

Hamilton police say a fire in Stoney Creek early Thursday morning, which caused significant damage estimated to be over $2 million, has been deemed suspicious.

Hamilton firefighters located the source of the smoke at just before 3:30 a.m., at the Roua plus Food Mart in the plaza at 140 Centennial Pkwy. North.

“We had a well and involved fire in one of the units – the food store,” said Hamilton Fire Chief David Cunliffe.

“Crews quickly made entry into the store and started initial interior attack. When they went in the building they were met with heavy smoke, a large amount of flame and extreme heat.”

Cunliffe said in a statement that as firefighters went deeper into the store they found that the roof had partially collapsed.

Extensive overhaul of the market was needed to extinguish hot spots that were continuing to flare up.

They were able to gain control of the fire, containing it within the food market unit. There are no injuries reported at this time.

“We’re estimating it to be at least a couple of million dollars in damage — that is an estimate and we could believe it could go higher depending on the level of damage to the rest of the stores,” said Cunliffe.

The Hamilton Fire chief said the unit that housed the food market sustained extensive fire damage to the interior and roof area. Adjacent units to the fire unit have sustained significant water and smoke damage.

A statement from Cunliffe later says the damage to the unit and adjacent units is estimated to be in excess of $2 million.

Hamilton police are expected to maintain care and control of the scene.

The Hamilton Fire Department will remain on the scene performing a fire watch.

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A nearby Stoney Creek resident caught the large flames and smoke bursting out from the Roua plus Food Market overnight which drew utter shock from the community over the beloved grocery store.

“It’s just heartbreaking that it caught fire. The people who own it have brought great business for the community,” said one resident.

“They were doing great business. Since last year and they just opened up a restaurant inside, I was there last week,” said another bystander.

Hamilton police say no arrests have been made and no suspects have been identified.

“BEAR unit was activated to attend to investigate. Through our investigation and processing the scene, we’ve determined this is a suspicious fire and we’re classifying it as an arson,” said Det. Greg Blunsdon with Hamilton Police.

This afternoon, employees and neighbouring businesses are left to to pick up the pieces. Hamilton fire say the damage was extensive, and the cost is in the millions.

Also at the plaza is a coffee shop, a walk-in clinic, and Big Al’s Pet Supercentres, which houses several small animals like parrots, ferrets and fish.

“It was heart warming to know that all of our animals are alive. While we’re trying to do some cleanup, we still have no power, no water, no electricity, no gas. So we’re not sure when we’ll be able to reopen, it will take a little work to get things restored,” said Mario Visca, Owner of Big Al’s Pet Supercentres.

Visca said he did speak with the owners of Roua plus, saying the owner and his wife are devastated.

“I saw the fire this morning on Facebook and just came over to make sure all the animals were okay,” said Chris Shantz, an employee at Big Al’s Pet Supercentres.

According to a statement from Big Al’s Pet Supercentres, the business was impacted by the smoke and will be closed until further notice. Luckily, no animals were injured or affected during the fire.

Anyone who may have video or relevant information related to the fire is asked to contact police.

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