'I don't feel good:' Owner watches Saint John building go up in flames
The owner of the former City Laundry building in Saint John said it was "very upsetting" to watch the building go up in flames on Saturday.
Developer Paul Daeres said he bought the three-story building after the laundromat shut down in 2011 after 92 years. He was using the building for storage, and said he had several thousands of dollars worth of building materials inside.
"I don't feel good," he said as firefighters sprayed water into the thick grey smoke billowing from the rooftop.
Firefighters were called to the scene at 11:41 a.m., said platoon chief Steve Voutour.
As of late afternoon, he said "the heavy fire has been knocked down," but parts of City Road from Hay Market Square to Garden Street will remain closed into the evening.
Voutour said the surrounding buildings were saved, though the nearby Irving gas station shut down for the day.
When firefighters arrived on scene, the building was fully engulfed, Voutour said.
"Crews made an aggressive interior attack but unfortunately we had to back out due to the amount of smoke and fire in there," he said.
"We'll endeavour to get through it. We've fought fires much worse than this."
Gary Pollock, who works at the wine store Barley, Malt and Vine across the street, didn't notice anything this morning until he heard sirens. He looked out and saw flames shooting "about 15 feet in the air" from the top windows.
He said there was a lot of thick black smoke coming from the building.
"Luckily the wind is blowing in the opposite direction so the smoke is not blowing toward us," he said.
