Fires in Cambridge

FIRE!

Loss of life. Destruction of a home or business. Damaging forest fires.

Throughout history, regardless of when or where they take place, fires have a devastating effect on people’s lives.

Although all fires are tragic, here are some of the major fires that have happened in Cambridge and its predecessor communities of Galt, Preston, and Hespeler.

1806 - In May of this year a fire was intentionally set to help clear brush and trees that had been chopped down in preparation for farming the land. Driven by strong winds, the fire got out of control - destroying newly-built barns and houses in Blair.

1843 - The newly built Dickson Mills, consisting of grist, woolen, and sawmills, is destroyed by fire, making it the most destructive fire the village has seen to date. The fire is fought by Galt’s first fire company which was formed just a year before.

1851 - Galt’s first large fire engulfs much of the business district.

1856 - On November 23, Galt suffers its second great fire as much of the north side of Main Street is consumed. Its wooden buildings are replaced by stone buildings.

1859 - The old Dumfries Foundry is destroyed by fire.

1862 - About 7 pm on May 31, a major fire damages the Granite Block on Main Street.

1869 - Jacob Hespeler’s mill on Guelph Avenue.

1882 - Fire destroys the Victoria Wheel Works on Main Street.

1894 - Christian Pabst Hotel in Hespeler.

1896 - On May 4, Hespeler council approves the installation of an electric alarm system across the village.

1910 - On April 8, faulty electrical wiring causes a fire that damages the Scott Opera House in Queen’s Square. Following the fire, the Provincial Opera House Company is organized to raise $30,000 to repair the damage.

1916 - Three young boys plead guilty to setting a fire that destroys the grandstand in Dickson Park. The grandstand was originally built about 1892 and was doubled in size in 1904 and was valued at $3,000.

1916 - A.B. Jardine’s factory on Guelph Avenue burns down.

1917 - On January 7, fire broke out at Preston Car & Coach Company - manufacturers of railway and interurban passenger cars and streetcars - destroying the factory and several cars awaiting final approval before being shipped. Damage was estimated at $200,000. Although the factory was rebuilt, it closed in 1922.

1917 - A peanut wagon with its coals still smouldering was stored overnight in a shed, leading to a fire that gutted the A.E. Buchanan Block in Galt.

1917 - Four children from the McNicol family - Alexander aged 6, Alice aged 5, David aged 3, and Nellie 11 months - died when their home on Stanley Street in Galt was destroyed by fire in April. Their father Private Alexander C. McNicol died in June 1916 from wounds received while serving with the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War.

1923 - the P.W. Gardiner and Son lumber and planing mill, and neighbouring businesses, suffered major losses from a fire in October. According to the Galt Daily Reporter “The blaze was probably the most spectacular ever seen in this part of Ontario … People came to see the fire from as far as Dundas … and Guelph … and at least 10,000 people visited the scene of the outbreak during the course of the night.”

1924 - The Galt Shoe Co. on Queen Street West is destroyed by fire in April.

1947 - Hespeler Public School burns causing $12,000 in damages.

1951 - Hall Foundry and Castings ignites resulting in $325,000 in damages.

1951 - Fire erupts at Stamped & Enamel Ware causing $15,000 damage.

1961 - a late night fire in March destroys the Robinson Block on Dickson Street.

1968 - On February 27, fire destroys the Werlich Industry Ltd. building in Preston, with losses set at $250,000.

1971 - St. Clemens Catholic Church on Duke Street is damaged by fire.

1974 - Fire losses reach more than $4.5 million following a series of fires including Centex Mills on Dobbie Drive; Main Street’s Aquarium Restaurant; Hespeler’s Royal Canadian Legion branch 272; Gmelin’s Flowers, the B’nai Israeli Synagogue, Moffat’s Catering, Wishing Well Ceramics and Tony’s Pizza and Tavern. The largest single loss was Main Street’s Willard Block which suffered more than $1.5 million on October 27.

1975 - On April 6 firefighters battled a blaze which gutted the historic Iroquois Hotel on Main Street.

1980 - Leisure Lodge, a popular entertainment venue off Speedsville Road, burns to the ground on February 22.

1983 - On January 19, the Sulphur Springs Hotel burns to the ground. It was one of three hotels at the corner of King and Fountain streets that enticed visitors to Preston to soak in its healing mineral baths.

1988 - Cambridge’s Castle Home Centre goes up in flames in July causing damages of $1.5 million. The lumber yard fire is one of the largest in the city’s history.

1989 - On April 16 fire destroys the annex of Galt’s Knox Presbyterian Church. Only quick action by Cambridge Fire Department saves the church from complete destruction and the annex is rebuilt by 1991 at a cost of $200,000.

1990 - Havlik Enterprises Ltd. suffers $1 million in damages as fire guts the middle section of its building.

1992 - On the same June day as the Cambridge Fire Department celebrates its 150th anniversary, firefighters are called to a major fire on Water Street South as the Jolly Jumper building is gutted.

1992 - the former Canadian Office and School Furniture Co. building on King Street burns to the ground making way for the Cambridge Kiwanis housing project.

1995 - On September 26, a $700,000 blaze destroyed one historic mill and severely damaged another at Silknit on Queen Street in Hespeler. One firefighter was injured when a wall collapsed on top of him, and two boys were charged with arson.

1996 - An early morning fire severely damages the former Hedstrom Canada building on King Street. Engineers later order the large yellow-brick factory on the Speed River torn down.

1998 - A Preston Foundry comes to a fiery end as fire destroys Kanmet on Margaret Street. The city was in the process of purchasing the vacant property which had been occupied by the Church of the Universe. The cleanup following the blaze costs the city nearly $200,000 to clear way the debris and deal with contaminated soil and materials on the site.

2000 - Careless use of matches resulted in the death of two children, five-year-old Zachary Hibbs and his 2 1/2-year-old sister Hayley.

2015 - The city recorded its largest fire loss to date when flames ripped through the Waste Management Company’s new paper and plastics recycling facility on Conestoga Boulevard on October 5. The fire gutted the plant causing $15 million damage.

2017 - On November 20 the skies over Hespeler darkened with smoke as a major fire devoured the former Croydon building on Sheffield Street. The suspicious blaze caused roughly $1.1 million damage.

2018 - On September 4, just minutes after the opening of the Cambridge Fire Department’s Station 6, firefighters are called to extinguish a blaze at the Cambridge OPP detachment offices on Beaverdale Road. The fire demolished the building causing $1.5 million in damages.

2019 – A January fire destroys a home on Livingstone Crescent resulting in more than $1 million in damages.

2020 - In early May, fire ripped through the Grand River Hotel on King Street causing an estimated $500,000 damage and forcing the business’s closure.

2021 – Built in 1870 and designated an historic site by the City in 1980, the Riverbank School on Fountain Street is destroyed by fire, leading to demolition of the iconic stone building.

2022 – Fire destroys an historic home, built in the late 1850s, before it can be moved and preserved as part of a new subdivision in south Cambridge.

2023 – A fire deemed suspicious destroys the Central Hotel on King Street. Built in 1839 as the Otto Klotz Hotel and having become more recently a bar known as The Hopper, the building is demolished.

2024 - Two fires, one in June and another in December, damage the the 1860's stone building that once housed the Peter Hay Knife Company. The building is on the City of Cambridge Heritage Properties Register but has never been designated under the Ontario Heritage Act.