Firefighters Busy with 6 Fires in 24 Hours

Update 2 PM: Firefighters expect to be battling fire in Beamsville into the evening

It appears fire fighters across the Niagara region were kept busy over the last 24 hours with about 6 fires.

We start with the most recent in Beamsville, where crews will be working on the remnants of a blaze at Moyer's Apple Products until the evening.

Niagara West fire chief Greg Hudson tells us they got the call around 3 this morning.

"We could actually see the fire from the Beamsville fire station, so we knew we had our work cut out for us.  So the first crews arrived, and the fire was through the roof already.  The roof looked like it was ready to collapse, and some of the walls were starting to lean," he recalls.

No word yet on damage or cause, and there wasn't anyone inside.

The Chief adds they had to use heavy equipment to get inside.

And the wind did keep them from evacuating nearby residents with the direction it was blowing.  "But, it did pose a bit of a hazard on the QEW highway, because this building is within site of that highway.  So, we advised OPP, and for motorists to use caution in the area, I don't believe they ever did have to shut down the highway, although that was a consideration."

Over to St. Catharines now, where damage from a fire at the marina is pegged at about $600,000.

Fire Chief Dave Upper says they got the call last night, in fact, during a two hour window in which they got calls for three other fires.

He says fire crews quickly dealt with the marina fire.  "One bay is maintenance for working on the boats, and the other half of the building is storage for boat parts.  Unfortunately due to the amount damage caused by the fire, the origin and cause remains undetermined." 

The fire chief is expressing great appreciation for everyone in his department for their efforts in battling the four fires in a short amount of time.

It all started with a shed fire at a business on Neilson Street.  "As we were working on that fire, we had the call to Broadway for the marina fire.  While we were at Broadway, we got a call for a deck fire on Beech Street, downtown St. Catharines.  Once we got things settled at Beech, we had a fire on Parkview Avenue."  

The chief adds amazingly there weren't any injuries.

There was also a house fire in Welland, in which no one was home at the time, and damage estimate is not known.  But fire officials believe that was started accidently.