Decades-old wiring caused blaze
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Decades-old electrical wiring caused a fire that badly damaged a downtown building late Wednesday, an inspection has determined.
"Really ancient" knob and tube wiring, installed when electrical service was first started at 328 Queen St. E. likely more than 60 years ago, failed and started a fire in the attic, said inspector Dan Fraser of Sault Ste. Marie Fire Services.
An Electrical Safety Authority inspector confirmed the cause after a survey of the two-and-a-half storey building Thursday afternoon. Fraser and Paul Antonello, another fire department inspector, checked the fire scene earlier in the day.
"The wiring was degraded and it failed, "said Fraser.
"A lot of sections we checked were brittle and deteriorated."
There was water damage to the ground floor. The ceilings were ripped out of three second-floor apartments "to chase the fire," said Fraser. The roof was destroyed.
The vacant property, which was being renovated, was insured.
A passerby reported the blaze shortly after 10 p. m. Wednesday. Twenty-eight firefighters, using four pumper trucks and an aerial ladder, needed about four hours to put out the stubborn fire.
Firefighters cleared the commercial building late Thursday afternoon. Several vehicles, including a pumper truck and bus, were parked on Queen Street.
http://www.saultstar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1487477
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