Firefighters spent much of Saturday battling a toxic fire in Chatham.
The blaze broke out around 1pm in the Dover St and Thames St area. Whitney Burk from the Chatham-Kent Fire Department has confirmed to BlackburnNews.com that it was a single building housing two businesses, Church's Army and Outdoor Military Surplus and Grill Lite hot tub store.
The fire sent massive clouds of black smoke into the air, which could be seen for miles. This prompted fire officials to go door-to-door urging residents to not go outside unless it was absolutely necessary, and to keep windows closed and air-conditioning units off. It is not immediately known what chemicals may have caused the black smoke.
Three fire companies were called in to fight the blaze.
Several blocks around the incident site had been closed off for several hours. It took a couple of hours for firefighters to get an upper hand on the conflagration but black smoke could still be seen billowing over the area.
There was no mandatory evacuation though some residents close to the fire scene were asked to clear the area. There were no reports of injuries.
Fire officials have not provided a cause, and the Ontario Fire Marshal's Office has been called in to investigate.
Damage has been estimated at $550,000.
CK Fire worked with Chatham-Kent Police and EMS to handle the incident.
Chatham toxic fire. October 14,2017. (Photo submitted by Crystal Slater)