St. Catharines firefighters say the large fire at the former Standard building downtown has been brought under control, as the focus now shifts on demolishing the building.
Crews remained on scene through Sunday afternoon, working to extinguish lingering hotspots as heavy machinery was used to clear sections of the debris.
The fire broke out late Friday night, with crews arriving around 11 p.m. to find flames on the upper floor that quickly spread throughout the building.
St. Catharines Fire Chief Dave Upper talks about the challenge firefighters were faced with.
There was concern that the smell of smoke in the air could put the public at risk, but Chief Upper says that wasn't the case as it was a situation they were monitoring closely.
The fire was brought under control, but Chief Upper says lots of work remains to be done.
No injuries have been reported. An investigation into the cause has not yet begun.
(Written by: Matt Latour & Brandon Wabry)