A fire that destroyed a two-storey commercial building in downtown Halifax is now under control, but crews are warning people to avoid the wafting smoke.
Firefighters were called in around 8 a.m. local time on Sunday to a fire in a building behind the Staples store, located at 5426 Portland Place, which houses National Art, RCR Hospitality Group and Ravensberg College. No one was inside the building at the time of the fire.
At one point the nearby Staples building was in danger of catching fire and crews put their main hoses on the building to protect it.
Smoke is drifting north from the building for several blocks, coating parts of north-end Halifax in a haze. The smell of smoke can be picked up from blocks away.
Scott Shaffner, the east division commander, says a row of townhouses between Portland Place and Cogswell Street has been evacuated, driving around 14 people from their homes.
"The fire won. The building has been completely gutted. The roof has been collapsed," Shaffner said.
He says anyone in the path of the smoke should get out of the way because smoke is a known carcinogen that shouldn't be breathed in.
"We have no idea of the amount of chemicals that are present in the smoke ... it can be really uncomfortable in time," he said. "I would really recommend everybody get out of the smoke if you're in."
Shaffner says firefighters found mattresses stockpiled inside the building, which contributed to the severity of the fire.
Witnesses say flames were shooting from the building's roof and windows.
"I thought it was the gentleman's smokehouse up the hill there but then all of a sudden we started smelling plastic and the smoke just billowed out," said Jeremy Harper, who lives in the neighbourhood. "She's just coming out of the roof big now."
Heather Fairbairn lives on Brunswick Street and was woken up by a loud knock on her door.
"So I looked out my window and said, 'What's going on?' And he said, 'Get out, get your pets and there's a fire behind you,'" she said. "Thank heavens for insurance."
She was told her building would be fine.
David Ballum-Heftka used to be a volunteer firefighter in the Annapolis Valley. This time, he was the one forced out of his home.
"It's really an odd thing to be told to evacuate your house, because you go in and say, 'What do I grab besides my dog?'" he said.
"This is a big one for sure ... I couldn't see where [the smoke] was coming from so I figured well, just get out of the house."
Police are diverting traffic at the intersections of Cornwallis and Gottingen streets, Cornwallis and Brunswick streets , Gottigen and Cogswell streets as well as Brunswick and Cogswell street.
There is no word on the cause of the fire.
The Canadian Red Cross is on scene.
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