An investigation continues into the cause of a fire Wednesday at 298 Wellington Street West.
It took hours for Sault Ste. Marie Fire Services to bring the basement blaze under control, after which the fire prevention office began an effort to determine how it started.
Heavy smoke hindered fire suppression in the first few hours of the fire, said platoon chief Joe May.
“With the amount of smoke that was down there, firefighters couldn’t actually see flame. It’s like walking into a very dark room,” said May.
All 13 on-duty firefighters responded to the fire at Hair, Bath & Body Co., which is in a building that was formerly a Royal Bank branch.
Firefighters paid a toll, exhausted due to a combination of heat and heavy smoke, but a shift change about 5 p.m. provided well-timed relief.
“We had the night shift come in and relieve the day crew, which is normal procedure. Not normal under these circumstances,” said May.
At the time of the changeover, May said of the day crew, “They are pretty much beat up now, they have had enough.”
A few day shift firefighters worked past their shift end to support the night crew, said May.
Fire prevention officers are currently on scene to determine the cause of the fire.
May said fire prevention will attempt to rule out causes as they come to a determination.
“We had crews on scene throughout the night for scene security and fire watch. Crews remain on scene to asset our fire prevention officers,” said May.