Building blaze $700k worth of damage not including merchandise in Oro-Medonte

A commercial building fire off Highway 11 at Line 7in Oro-Medonte on Wednesday night has done $700K in damage.

A rooftop fire off Line 7 in Oro-Medonte on Wednesday night has done $700,000 according to Chief of Oro-Medonte Fire Roree Payment.

The cost could increase.

“We’re looking at about $700,000, to the building itself, however, until some of the businesses, insurance companies had the opportunity to come in and assess the contents. We don’t have a total value,” said Payment.

Fire officials remained on scene until Friday afternoon on the look out for hot spots.

Some businesses were seen going through their belongings seeing what could be saved.

Seven businesses remain out of service as of Friday, however some businesses saw minimal damage and could be back in service shortly.

• Massive fire consumes commercial building in Oro-Medonte, home to many small businesses

“There are certainly businesses in this complex that have been a hard hit. There’s some that have not been affected at all. So, it’s just going to come down to the ability to get their utilities turned back on,” said Payment “Some of them would be probably back in business within the next few days.”

Businesses spoke with CTV News Friday afternoon but declined interviews amid the cleanup.

According to business owners, soffit on the roof caught fire and was the source of all visible damage on the building.

Winds on Wednesday evening pushed the flames towards the North parking lot, ultimately avoiding more damage to the other side of the building.

The building has avoided any major structural damage.

“We have had a third-party engineer come in and assess structural damage to determine next steps with respect to letting some of the businesses have to remove items and or, return operations,” said Payment.

Clean-up has begun on the building as crews have been seen on the roof beginning to clear debris with officials hoping to have the building cleared and cleaned up in a few months.