Halton Place banquet hall badly damaged in blaze

Halton Hills firefighters were called out Friday afternoon for a fire in a banquet hall at Halton Place, where just two weeks earlier a Milton BMX racer died while he was building a new track. When crews arrived at the 15 Sideroad property they found heavy fire and smoke coming from the west section of the building and into the attic. Approximately 26 firefighters worked for about an hour to bring the blaze under control, and several remained there until late in the afternoon extinguishing hot spots and investigating the cause. "Despite the heavy rain and stifling heat outside, coupled with the fire and smoke conditions firefighters performed extremely well getting the fire under control very quickly," said Chief of Fire Prevention and Public Education Harry Olivieri. "While access to the fire was very difficult, firefighters were persistent in their efforts to get the seat of the fire and all extensions." The fire, which destroyed about one-third of the building, resulted in more than $100,000 damage. Olivieri said the cause of the fire is still being investigated but they have determined it was electrical, and started in the storage room. No one was injured in the blaze.