Sturgeon Falls fire destroys several businesses, apartments

Firefighters remain on the scene of a fire in Sturgeon Falls this morning that destroyed several businesses in the town's core and displaced several people from their homes.

No injuries are reported.

Sergeant Cory Duhaime saidthe fire on King Street was reported at about 6 p.m. He said the buildings directly involved in the fire housed "four to five" businesses, and about five apartments.

"Immediately, we evacuated a lot of business and residents from the adjoining buildings in that whole block," he said. "There was a lot of smoke damage at the time. Obviously, a few of the tenants lost their apartment belongings, not the mention the people who own the businesses in those buildings."

Duhaime says both the Red Cross and theSturgeon Falls PentecostalChurch are now involved in helping the people affected by the fire.

He also asked people to stay away from the scene at this point for safety reasons.

Greater Sudbury Hydro disconnected electricity to downtown Sturgeon and power remains off at this hour.

In a release, the utility says an inspection will be conducted early this morning to determined if neighbouring businesses suffered any damage and power will be restored to unaffected buildings "as soon as possible."