BELWOOD – An early-morning fire in the village of Belwood Tuesday badly damaged a multi-residential building.
Nobody was injured at a fire at the Canada Post office at the corner of George Street and North Broadway Street in Belwood but a deputy chief said the building will be a complete loss.
The building includes several unoccupied apartments and the Belwood post office.
Centre Wellington Fire and Rescue extinguished the blaze and remained on scene Tuesday to monitor any hot spots. Tanker assistance came in from Hillsburgh and Grand Valley. Around 8 a.m. Tuesday morning, most emergency responders had left the scene with one fire truck remaining on the scene.
A portion of George Street in the village remains closed to traffic early Tuesday, while North Broadway (Wellington Road 26) has reopened after being closed for a few hours.
Centre Wellington Fire and Rescue deputy chief Jason Benn said Elora and Fergus fire stations were dispatched to the scene of a fully involved fire at the two-storey building around 12:15 p.m.
No damage estimates are known at this point either but the deputy chief said the building will be a complete loss. Benn said it appeared the fire started at the rear of the building and made its way through.
No cause is known as of yet and the Ontario Fire Marshal has been called in to investigate. Benn expected a determination on cause and damage estimate to come in a few days.
Lifelong Belwood resident Bob Iltal, who lives near where the fire took place, said he slept right through the fire overnight.
He said the building has been many things over the years but losing it is a shame.
“It’s a huge loss for Belwood … I don’t know where we’ll get our mail now,” Iltal said, speculating residents might have to travel to Fergus.
