Updated on Friday, May 10 at 10:24 a.m.: An early morning blaze at a new vape shop in Bradford is under investigation.
Bradford Fire and Emergency Services Chief Brent Thomas has confirmed South Simcoe police and Ontario’s Office of the Fire Marshal are investigating the “suspicious” incident, which broke out around 3 a.m. Friday.
Police, firefighters and County of Simcoe paramedics attended the call for a structure fire at the plaza at 136 Holland St. E., where the recently opened North Vapes store was reported to be engulfed in flames.
Other units in the plaza suffered smoke damage — with heavier amounts found in Lil’ Schnitzel and Bangkok Saigon Noodle. Fire crews are working to ventilate damaged units today, Thomas said.
The entire plaza has been closed until Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit inspectors can attend and assess the situation.
“We had fire in the North Vapes unit that was coming out of the unit on our fire crews’ arrival,” Thomas told BradfordToday. “They were able to quickly knock it down. We did get smoke migrating into the rest of the entire complex. Almost all the units have food or cooking, so the health unit inspector needs to sign off on what food is OK to use and what is spoiled. None of the businesses are able to open until we can get that clearance.”
North Vapes held its grand opening on April 20.
It offered different brands of vaporizers and nicotine-based oils including open pods, closed pods and disposables, plus vaping accessories.
“Not only is it a very beautiful store, but it’s at a very beautiful price,” co-owner Mustafa Sarwary said last month.
BradfordToday attempted to contact Sarwary about the fire but he was not immediately available for comment.
Thomas said the North Vapes unit sustained “significant” damage and nothing inside appears salvageable. However, the plaza itself still seems structurally sound.
“With the quick detection of the fire and firefighting, the building will be structurally evaluated, but they were compliant to fire code,” he said.
— With files from Michael Owen and Paul Novosad
