Business owners devastated after suspicious fire on historic block of Wortley Village

Business owners in the heart of London's Old South neighbourhood said they'd been up all night assessing the damage to their stores following an overnight fire that police are calling suspicious. 

The London Fire Department was called to the corner of Wortley Road and Bruce Street at 12:30 a.m. ET, a block that has buildings dating back to 1886.

Firefighters were met with heavy smoke and flames, and platoon chief Brent Shea said it took two aerial rigs and eight crews to put out the fire.

Three businesses and the apartments above them were damaged by the fire. 

"I got a call at 1 a.m. from a neighbour saying that the building beside mine was on fire and when I came down, there were flames shooting out of the roof," said Al Stewart, the owner of Westland Gallery. "There were 12 men out on my roof trying to put the thing out ... It was a pretty long, hard battle."

Neighbours said they heard the sounds of the blaze and fire crews working overnight.

"I heard this crackling and I thought something's going on in the streets," said Elizabeth Iles, who was asleep in her apartment across the street when the fire broke out. "I rolled over and opened my eyes and I saw this orange-gold [light] coming through my windows."

Iles said she saw the fire burning for two hours, with flames re-erupting throughout the night while firefighters were working.

"My place was lit up like a Christmas tree," Iles said. 

Two people who live above the businesses are out of their homes and in the care of the Red Cross, said Shea. No injuries are reported, she added. 

London police are calling the fire suspicious and are continuing to investigate with the Ontario Office of the Fire Marshal. 

'It's devastating:' business owners

"I did have a peek inside and it's devastating," said Sharinne Snellen, who owns Sha Choix, which sells jewelry and gifts. "It's lots of water and the ceiling is down, so there's nothing we can do now."

Snellen said that while most of her jewels were safe in the fire, she won't be able to operate in her storefront due to the damage.

"This is horrible. It's right before Christmas," Snellen said. "Next week, we have Christmas in the Village, and it's one of the busiest times in the whole year, and I'm going to miss that."

She said she plans to start looking for a new space to run her business, which could be a new storefront or her own home.

Stewart said the Westland Gallery was "lucky," facing little damage.

"It smells a little bit like smoke, but nothing worse than a cigar. It looks like one painting has been damaged, [fire crews] smashed my back door open so they could check to see if anybody was in there, and I got a lot of water in my basement.

"It doesn't look nearly as bad as it could have been," he said. 

Police said the total damage is estimated at $2 million.

2nd recent fire in historic neighbourhood

Both business owners said the corner building was in poor condition before the fire.

"I think that building had to be redone a long time ago, and I don't know if this is a sign," said Snellen. 

Stewart said it was "a fire trap to start with."

In 2023, another historic building on Wortley Road was destroyed when an arsonist set fire to the Black Walnut Cafe, leaving a hole in the prominent north block of the village.

"Now we've lost another key component of the Old South District and it's just a shame," said Mike Dalglish, who lives in the neighbourhood and is a regular at A Village Tail, which was also damaged in the fire.

The owners of the Black Walnut Cafe say they'll rebuild, and a crew was working on the site Thursday morning.

"There is some sunshine in this dreary story and that is someone is rebuilding as we speak," Dalglish said.

Wortley Road is expected to remain closed for the rest of Thursday as crews remain on the scene to put out hot spots and investigate.