Occupants escape two-alarm apartment fire in downtown Stratford

One person was treated for smoke inhalation after a two-alarm downtown apartment fire in Stratford on Thursday afternoon.

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The fire started around noon in the ceiling of an apartment above La Diperie, an ice cream and dessert shop on Ontario Street. More than 20 firefighters and three trucks responded to the second-storey blaze, which was mostly extinguished by 1:45 pm

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Stratford fire Chief Neil Anderson said the ceiling had knob-and-tube wiring common in older buildings.

“We have no idea of ​​the cause yet,” he said. “That could be it, but we have to investigate a little more.”

Firefighters used a ladder to gain access through a window facing Ontario Street, and a crew pulled down the ceiling from the inside. A hole was also cut through the building’s roof.

Ontario Street was closed from Erie Street to Waterloo Street, and a city bus was parked on the road as a warming station.

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Paramedics treated one apartment occupant for smoke inhalation, and firefighters rescued Nyx, a seven-year-old kelpie, from a second apartment. It’s unclear in which apartment the fire started or the extent of damage to the apartments above La Diperie, the business itself or adjacent apartments.

“It is very hard to say because I haven’t been inside myself,” Anderson said.

Chris Huggins was walking home from the Stratford Mall after buying some books when he saw fire trucks in front of the building he’s called home for almost eight years. Huggins lived in a two-bedroom apartment with Nyx and his cat, which hadn’t yet been found. Anderson said firefighters were doing a more thorough search for the pet, which may have been hiding. Two members from the local humane society were also on site.

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Troy Daniels got off work at noon and arrived at his apartment in the adjacent building above a record store 15 minutes later. Fire trucks were already there, he said, but smoke was blowing in the opposite direction of his building.

By 12:30 pm, Daniels’ wife noticed smoke entering the bathroom through a floor vent.

“We grabbed the cats, put them in the cat carriers and went outside,” he said. “Hopefully, we don’t lose everything from smoke damage. We have insurance, but replacing everything – there’s some stuff that irreplaceable.”

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