After an extensive search, North Bay Fire and Emergency Services has been able to confirm no lives were lost in an early morning fire thought to have originated in or above the Cedar Tree Lebanese Restaurant at 183 Main St. E.
The first call for assistance came in just after 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday, March 26. "We got here and there was heavy smoke and flames. The crews went in, they've been in probably 10 times already," Deputy Fire Chief Greg Saunders told BayToday at 3 a.m. "There is heavy damage to the building, the back of the building has collapsed."
Saunders observed six apartment units on the upper floors were affected by the fire. "We have done an extensive search and we have since confirmed everybody was able to safely evacuate from the building."
As of 3 a.m., the North Bay Nurse Practitioner Clinic at 179 Main St. E had also been affected by the blaze. The Cedar Tree's neighbouring building at 187 Main St. E. — nearer Wyld Street, the home of Deluxe Custom Tattoos — was thought to have thus far escaped major damage.
The North Bay Nurse Practitioner Clinic had undergone major renovations in the wake of another major downtown fire that also destroyed MPP Vic Fedeli's constituency office in December 2019.
Both Main Street and Oak Street were closed at the scene near Wyld Street as crews continued to fight the fire. The 100 block of Main Street East is likely to remain closed but Oak Street may reopen for the morning commute.
As a ladder truck doused the fire from above, Saunders stated, "It looks like it started in the Cedar Tree side, it's into the roof right now, we're gonna get back in there."
— BayToday will update this story
