Significant damage caused by fire in downtown Hamilton

Emergency responders continue to investigate after a fire in Hamilton caused significant damage to a vacant building downtown.

More than a dozen fire trucks were first called at 8:30 p.m. on Monday to the former Dominion Lending building at 161 King St. East that is now vacant.

The Hamilton Fire Department closed a section of King St. East between Walnut and Catherine Streets in order to investigate the cause of the fire.

Crews were met with smoke and flames coming from the first and second floors of the building.

HFD crews operating at a structure fire on King Street East this evening. King remains closed between Walnut & Catharine. #HamOnt #StrongForYou pic.twitter.com/7mnuXn6hxK

— Hamilton Fire Department (@HamiltonFireDep) December 20, 2022

The building was empty at the time of the blaze but one firefighter suffered a cut to their hand while battling the fire. Reports say they have since been treated and released from hospital.

The cause of the fire is not deemed suspicious, but the Ontario Fire Marshall has been called in to investigate given the extensive damage. Estimates for the cost of loss is around $500-thousand dollars.

Crews are maintaining the closure of one lane on King St. East while they wait for engineers to assess the structure and deem it safe to reopen the second lane.