NEWS RELEASE
DOWNTOWN ORILLIA BIA
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On behalf of our member businesses, volunteers, staff and partners, the Downtown Orillia Business Improvement Area (DOBIA) board of management would like to express our sincerest gratitude to the many organizations and individuals who not only directly fought the horrific Peter Street fire, but also those who provided support to the people and businesses that were impacted.
The fire destroyed a beloved heritage building and the businesses that called it home. If not for the immediate response by the Orillia Fire Department and their partner fire departments from across the region, the fire would have surely spread to other buildings in the downtown.
There were many stories about the generosity and kindness of individual residents and businesses who offered food or hot drinks to first responders and those displaced by the fire. Buses were even brought to a nearby location to give people a place to warm up seeing that it was one of the coldest days of the year.
During the active fire and in the days following, a number of individuals, businesses and organizations stepped up and we’d like to show our appreciation by recognizing just a few of them:
Orillia Fire Department
Rama Fire Rescue
Ramara Fire and Rescue Services
Oro-Medonte Fire Department
Severn Fire and Emergency Services
Simcoe County Paramedic Services
OPP Orillia detachment
City of Orillia
Orillia Transit
Orillia Area Community Development Corporation
North Simcoe Victim Services
Meridian Credit Union
Green Storage Orillia
Salvation Army
We apologize that we couldn’t recognize everyone and their contributions, but it would be a very long list.
“So many people reached out to us to offer whatever support they could. The response from the community was incredible. Even people from outside the community called or emailed. People are still asking what they can do and we feel that the best way to help is just to continue to shop and dine in the downtown.” — Deron Johnston, Downtown Orillia BIA executive director
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