Bill Capstick, chief of the Florence Volunteer Fire Department, said the fire at the Bras d'Or business was reported around 11 p.m. and took firefighters several hours to fully extinguish.
"There was heavy fire that had broken through the roof of the building and the whole building was on fire. It was consuming it," he said, noting three fire departments battled the blaze. "A building that size is not something that one department can look after. There was us, Sydney Mines and the North Sydney aerial (unit) trying to get some water down on the roof. We had at least 40-45 firefighters there."
Capstick said firefighters were on the scene until 4 a.m. and had to return to the scene for about a half hour Sunday morning to deal with a flare-up.
Capstick said the building next door to the auto centre, where several local businesses are located, was a major concern throughout the night as firefighters worked to limit damage to it. In the end, they were able to contain most of the damage to the exterior of the neighbouring building, with some siding melting away, and the roof and rear windows sustaining damage, as well.
Cape Breton Regional Police Staff Sgt. Paul Muise said police directed traffic as firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze at the auto centre, which is located at the intersection of Highway 105 and Alder Point Road. A few nearby homes were also evacuated as a precaution as large embers from the fire spread beyond the auto centre property.
Muise said the fire has been deemed suspicious, there is security on the scene and police tape surrounds the entire site.
"Our forensic identification unit and our arson investigator will be involved and the fire marshal's will be involved with the investigation," said Muise.
Shortly after arriving on the scene Sunday morning, Doug MacKenzie, deputy fire marshal, said the exact cause of the fire will take some time to determine.
"Sometimes it can take hours, sometimes it can take days. We really don't know anything until we begin," he said. "We're just getting preliminary reports now so we'll pull all the information together before we begin."
Prior to the auto centre opening a few years ago, the building was previously home to the Co-op grocery store, and later the Bargain Shop.
Bill Capstick, chief of the Florence Volunteer Fire Department, said the fire at the Bras d'Or business was reported around 11 p.m. and took firefighters several hours to fully extinguish.
"There was heavy fire that had broken through the roof of the building and the whole building was on fire. It was consuming it," he said, noting three fire departments battled the blaze. "A building that size is not something that one department can look after. There was us, Sydney Mines and the North Sydney aerial (unit) trying to get some water down on the roof. We had at least 40-45 firefighters there."
Capstick said firefighters were on the scene until 4 a.m. and had to return to the scene for about a half hour Sunday morning to deal with a flare-up.
Capstick said the building next door to the auto centre, where several local businesses are located, was a major concern throughout the night as firefighters worked to limit damage to it. In the end, they were able to contain most of the damage to the exterior of the neighbouring building, with some siding melting away, and the roof and rear windows sustaining damage, as well.
Cape Breton Regional Police Staff Sgt. Paul Muise said police directed traffic as firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze at the auto centre, which is located at the intersection of Highway 105 and Alder Point Road. A few nearby homes were also evacuated as a precaution as large embers from the fire spread beyond the auto centre property.
Muise said the fire has been deemed suspicious, there is security on the scene and police tape surrounds the entire site.
"Our forensic identification unit and our arson investigator will be involved and the fire marshal's will be involved with the investigation," said Muise.
Shortly after arriving on the scene Sunday morning, Doug MacKenzie, deputy fire marshal, said the exact cause of the fire will take some time to determine.
"Sometimes it can take hours, sometimes it can take days. We really don't know anything until we begin," he said. "We're just getting preliminary reports now so we'll pull all the information together before we begin."
Prior to the auto centre opening a few years ago, the building was previously home to the Co-op grocery store, and later the Bargain Shop.
