As fire raged at a downtown Orillia building Tuesday morning, some nearby residents were smoked out of their homes and staff from at least one business scrambled to save their goods.
Firefighters responded shortly before 7:30 a.m. to the building on the southwest corner of Peter and Mississaga streets.
The firefighters taking turns climbing to the top of the ladder truck were spraying at Dr. Comics and along Peter Street but changed the flow back to Mississaga Street.
Flames were coming out of the roof of the large structure.
While firefighters were continuing to fight the blaze at 10 a.m., Sanderson Monument staff were busy moving files from its century building at 33 Peter St. S. to its building on Colborne Street.
"We saw flames shortly after 7 a.m. this morning and the flames went to a lot of flames and (were) quickly spreading to the whole building. We could see smoke coming out the roof and then neighbouring roofs as well," said Neil Sanderson, of Sanderson Monument.
"That's when we decided we better move out all of our stuff that we can't replace. We are pulling all our files out because we are 153 years old and we have 153 years of old files that we are pulling out of this building.
He said the buildings "are old and dry and, of course, these buildings are connected, so it can spread pretty easily."
Not all businesses, however, were afforded the chance to save their possessions, with Three Birds Salon directly impacted by the fire.
“To say it's devastating is an understatement. That was my baby. It's gone,” owner Kendra Vanderwerf said in a video posted to social media. “It will never be the same, but that is going to have to be OK and I'm going to have to be okay with that … but we're going to rise from the ashes, and we're going to be bigger and we're going to be better.”
In her video, Vanderwerf said numerous salons have reached out and offered space for Three Birds Salon, and she said, "We will be at a new location the minute we get some tools," adding residents can support the business by voting for it in the Reader's Choice awards or purchasing tickets for its upcoming drag show at Sidelines Sports Bar on Feb. 15.
Beyond businesses, some downtown residents were awoken with a fright Tuesday morning.
Amanda Romaine was taking refuge at the Colborne Street Tim Hortons. She lives near the scene of the fire and had to leave her second-floor apartment due to smoke.
"I woke up smelling smoke and I thought something was on fire in my apartment and I started freaking out," she said.
"We all got dressed and left. We couldn't go out the front door because the street was taped off. So, then we went back upstairs and downstairs and out the back door and then we (saw) all the flames.
"It's smells really strong in my apartment. It smells like something is on fire in my apartment."
James Marshall lives in a second-floor apartment nearby.
"I walked into the kitchen this morning and all I could smell was smoke. I thought one of my roommates was burning something, but no; it was this," he said outside his apartment.
Marshall said he noticed the smoke at about 6:30 a.m.
"I got up to go to the washroom and all I could smell is smoke," he said.
"A few of my neighbours left because they had smoke up there, too."
