Firefighters continue to battle a large fire in Walkerville.
They were called to the former Champs bar at the corner of Wyandotte Street East and Parent Avenue just after 4 Friday morning.
The building was under renovations for a multi-million dollar boutique hotel and themed restaurant.
Fire Chief Stephen Laforet tells AM800 News, they found heavy fire and smoke pouring from the second and third floors.
"We went to defensive operations right away which means setting up aerial towers and large hose lines so we're unable to make entry," says Laforet.
A portion of the front roof and the east-side of the building have collapsed and bricks are littering the street.
Laforet is telling residents in the area to close their windows and shut off their ventilation systems because of the heavy smoke.
"There's always concerns with smoke," says Laforet. "That being said it's a residential building so it's typically class A combustibles but just as a precaution especially with people that may have respiratory problems, it's best to avoid the area and close your windows so the smoke doesn't get into your homes."
Meantime, Barbara Vigneux has emotional ties to the building and cried when she heard the building was on fire.
"My mom and my grandma are both gone so is my grandfather, he lived in that room on the second floor, on the corner," says Vigneux. "I used to clean the rooms with my grandmother, my mom worked in the bar and I was 16 and my baby shower was here."
She says the old bar was a great place to be, where everyone was family.
"You don't know what it's like to know that you could walk into a bar at 16 and everybody knows you and they're all like your parents and they all take care of you," says Vigneux. "There use to be a restaurant in there, there use to be a pool table in there and it was just a great place to be."
Vigneux says she was looking forward to the building being renovated.
The Ontario Fire Marshal has been notified about the fire.
.@WindsorFire1 crews battling a blaze on Wyandotte St East near Parent Ave. #cklw @AM800CKLW pic.twitter.com/I0RJgkRE4t
— Rob Hindi (@rhindi800) May 24, 2024