Damage is estimated at $10 million after a fire destroyed the Grand Bend RONA store on Friday.
Lambton Shores Fire and Emergency Services responded to a fire at the hardware store on Highway 21 (Ontario Street South) shortly after 2 p.m.
Chief Sean Smith said when crews arrived the fire was located in the roof and it quickly spread.
"The structure was a commercial structure with steel clad on the outside, so it made progress of getting to the fire difficult," said Smith. "It did escalate fairly quickly. I can confirm that the way the construction of the roof is in that commercial building, it would have spread very quickly throughout the roof and then became a fully involved structure fire upon reaching the ceiling to the interior of the building."
Smith said four of five Lambton Shores stations - Arkona, Thedford, Northville and Grand Bend - responded to the call, with mutual aid assistance from South Huron's Exeter and Dashwood stations.
"We were there until about 11:30 p.m., where we were able to have the fire somewhat under control and transition our crews and apparatus off the main roadway and open the main roadway again. We remained on scene until 6 a.m. Saturday morning," Smith said.
While they believe the fire started in the roof, Smith said an exact cause is still being investigated.
"Based on some of the preliminary statements, we're confident we might be able to determine a cause," Smith said.
The building was eventually torn down to ensure hot spots were extinguished.
"It met the threshold for notifying OFM [Office of the Fire Marshal], but I'm guessing the estimate would probably be around $10 million dollars in damage," Smith said.
The store was quickly evacuated, and no injuries were reported.
Smith said concerns about the environmental impact of runoff from the site, due to firefighting and suppression operations, were being investigated.
"The Ministry of Environment was notified and we brought in GFL [Environmental Inc.] emergency response. They bring on site all things that are required to mitigate the potential emergency impacts," he said.
Smith said he's thankful for the crews who responded and went right to work, and for the community support received afterward.
