Eight people homeless after Verner fire

Eight people are homeless after an early morning fire ripped through a rooming house in Verner.

The blaze happened on Principal Street at the old Commercial Hotel.

The owner of the building, who lived in the house, is in hospital with smoke inhalation.

A man who lives across the street from the building said he was woken up early Wednesday morning to be evacuated from his own home.

"You [could] see flames coming out the roof, the windows and everything," Leonard Lee said.

"It was unreal. An old building like that, it's so dry … the inside of it, once the inside caught fire, that was it. They lost everything."

Residents — many of them also lost everything — spent the morning grappling with what happened.

No insurance

Shane Alford and his wife Louise are two of the rooming house residents.

Alford said he's still in shock.

"[I’m] happy that I got out, but … losing all our stuff was a big hit," he said.

"I was pretty bummed out. Everything I own is gone and no insurance ... what do you do?"

Alford said the Red Cross has already contacted the residents about emergency shelter, food, and clothing.

Crews from three fire detachments worked to fight the blaze.

Mike Dionne of the West Nipissing Fire Service said the age and condition of the building made fighting the fire a challenge.

"There's a lot of sawdust, wood chips and a lot of additions, evidentally, and there's a couple of additions onto the roof," he said.

"So it's making it harder for us to get to the scene of the fire."

Dionne said he’s not sure when they will be able to determine the cause of the fire.

One thing is certain however, he said, the building will have to be torn down once the investigation is complete.

West Nipissing Fire Chief Gary Leblanc said firefighters got the call about 4:40 a.m. to head to the Principal Street blaze.

Both Pricipal and Paquette Streets in Verner were closed as fire crews worked.