Fire crews prevent destruction of landmark downtown bar
CBC
A fire at The Richmond Tavern, a longstanding downtown bar, was likely caused by a carelessly discarded cigarette, according to the London Fire Department.
Fire crews, along with police, responded to reports of a structure fire at 370 Richmond Street Tuesday evening at around 5:45 p.m.
A crew of 30 firefighters in eight vehicles arrived at the scene to keep the fire in check.
They provided mechanical ventilation to the Richmond Tavern, and assisted in clearing heavy smoke before the fire climbed to the top of the historical four storey building.
The origin of the fire was located in a back hallway, where Platoon chief Colin Shewell said fumes from a discarded cigarette got into the walls.
Shewell said clearing the fire took under an hour.
"I believe the bar was back open after we left and they were ventilating," he said on Wednesday. "That's great news for the business downtown. It wasn't affected for more than a couple hours last night, and hopefully it's business as usual today down at the corner of King and Richmond."
