Fire investigators are "absolutely" focused on a construction site following an overight blaze in the city's west end that officials believe caused damages in excess of $2 million.
In conjunction with Barrie police, investigators from the Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management (OFMEM) were on scene Monday afternoon taking samples and collecting evidence as they try to get to the bottom of what started the massive blaze on Edgehill Drive, west of Ferndale Drive.
"Right now, we have three buildings that were under various stages of construction," Christiian ter Stege, a fire investigator with the OFMEM, told BarrieToday at the scene. "We're looking for an area of origin, so where the fire first initiated, and then we're going to look at potential causes. We'll either prove or discount any possible causes that might have ignited this fire."
Ter Stege said it's hard to tell how long they might be on scene.
"Right now, we're going to be taking some exhibits, so evidence to support what the theories might be," he said. "We'll be sending those off to the Centre of Forensic Sciences, as well as collecting any other evidence, whether it be witness statements or video (from) closed-circuit cameras around the area."
Once investigators are able to establish a point of origin, that should more them closer to pinpointing a cause, ter Stege said.
Barrie fire department officials were also at the scene providing support for the OFMEM.
Firefighters responded to the blaze just a few minutes before midnight Sunday, and battled the blaze well into the early morning hours Monday. Fire crews remained on scene this morning dealing with hot spots.
Barrie police were at the Edgehill Drive scene, conducting a parallel investigation and maintaining the site's integrity as a possible crime scene.
"We have Barrie police on scene for our safety as well as for anyone who might want to come forward with information that could assist in the investigation," ter Stege said.
Westbound traffic was prohibited this afternoon onto Edgehill from Ferndale Drive, but eastbound vehicular traffic was being permitted to exit the neighbourhood, located at the bottom of the hill below the city's landfill site.
Representatives from insurance and restoration companies were also present.
At the scene, Barrie fire prevention officer Dave Lalonde told BarrieToday the construction site, which was reduced to little more than charred lumber as well as a burnt-out tractor, included three buildings containing four units each. Existing homes on either side of the fire scene sustained heavy damage as well. A third home west of the fire was also damaged.
"The homes on the east and west (of the construction site)... are damaged from fire-spread exposure," ter Stege said. "So radiant and convective heat has impacted those structures. A lot of these structures have vinyl siding, and it doesn't take too much to get it to start to melt."
Crews also had to deal with a breached gas line, which one fire official referred to as "acting like a blowtorch for hours."
Lalonde said fire department mustered as many firefighters as possible due to the magnitude of the fire, including the breached gas line at the home to the east of the construction site, which is located across the street from the United Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 46 building.
Anyone with information can contact police at 705-725-7025, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
