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Massive fire destroys historic buildings in downtown Barrie, Ont.

BARRIE, Ont. –
Firefighters spent the night battling a major blaze that gutted at
least three buildings in the heart of downtown Barrie, Ont.

A fire official said the blaze broke out at about 11:20 p.m. Thursday and started with an explosion in a restaurant basement.

Reports say the blast sent glass and furniture flying across the street.

Matt Barry, a bartender at a local pub, says he heard the explosion and watched as flames spread.

“Within an hour the whole building was on fire and the roof had caved in,'' said Barry.

“By that point, it was just an inferno.''

At least five others downtown buildings were damaged at the city's so-called five-point intersection.

Barrie Police Sgt. Dennis Vaillancourt said the fire struck one large block of buildings connected by mutual walls.

There were no injuries reported and no indication of anyone missing.

Police
said at least 50 people were evacuated from apartments and a nearby
hotel and were being tended to by Salvation Army staff.

At least 100 firefighters from Barrie and other communities battled the blaze.

At one point, they drew water from Lake Simcoe to help fight the fire.

The main blaze was extinguished by about 5:30 a.m. but firefighters were kept busy dousing hot spots.