The former home of the Silly Rabbit Vape Shop downtown is now in the process of being demolished, months after it was deemed unsafe following a massive fire that caused extensive damage to the building.
Firefighters took hours to battle the blaze at 645-647 Queen Street East on the morning of May 8, as members of the public gathered downtown in order to watch the structure fire rip through the third floor of the vacant building.
The official cause of the fire is unknown.
Asim Bhatti, who is also the president and sole director of the property owner, Asimco Textiles, told SooToday at the time of the fire that squatters had been an ongoing issue at the property, with another squatter spotted in the building hours before firefighters arrived to battle the large structure fire.
The landlord said similar issues with squatters also affected his other property in the Sault, a 23-unit apartment building located at 138 East Street. More than a dozen tenants were evacuated from the building in July after the City of Sault Ste. Marie deemed it unsafe.
Asimco Textiles was slapped with $95,000 in fines after the southern Ontario company was convicted of eight fire code offences at 138 East Street in provincial offences court hearing last year.