Flames and heavy smoke rise from a hardware store in Ayer’s Cliff during an early-morning fire on Dec. 27, which drew a large multi-station response from the Memphremagog Regional Fire Authority. Photo: AMIS DU LAC MASSAWIPPI/Facebook
Pulse Newsroom
A major fire that tore through a hardware store in Ayer’s Cliff early Saturday morning, Dec. 27, has been declared a total loss, following a day-long multi-station firefighting operation involving dozens of firefighters from across the region.
In a follow-up interview at 4:30 p.m., Stephen Nicholson, director of the Memphremagog Regional Fire Authority, confirmed that crews had cleared the scene earlier in the afternoon and that the building could not be saved. “It’s a total loss, unfortunately,” Nicholson said, adding that the cause of the fire remains undetermined.
Firefighters were first called to the scene shortly before 7:50 a.m., while staff were already inside the store preparing for the business day. Nicholson said the presence of people on site helped ensure a rapid emergency call. “I think we got the call around 7:46, 7:47 this morning,” he said in a morning interview.
For safety reasons, electricity was temporarily cut to the surrounding sector as firefighters began operations inside and around the structure. Nicholson said the outage likely affected much of the village for roughly half an hour. “We had to cut the grid in the sector for safety purposes for the firefighters operating on scene,” he said. Hydro crews later arrived to isolate the building, allowing power to be restored to the rest of the community.
At the height of the response, as many as 45 firefighters were involved, Nicholson confirmed later in the day, revising an earlier estimate of approximately 40. Firefighters from all four stations within the regional authority took part in the operation. The fire occurred within Ayer’s Cliff’s district, with North Hatley and Stanstead stations among the early responders. A rehabilitation and decontamination unit from Fitch Bay was also deployed, along with a ladder truck from Coaticook to support suppression efforts.
Despite the scale of the response, Nicholson said the fire was not brought under control during the morning hours. “Unfortunately, it’s not under control as of yet,” he said earlier in the day. Crews adopted a defensive strategy, focusing on containing the fire and preventing it from spreading beyond the building. “We’re currently in a defensive posture and there is no risk of it spreading to neighbouring buildings,” Nicholson said.
A mechanical shovel was brought in to assist firefighters with overhaul operations, allowing crews to safely pull apart sections of the structure and address lingering hot spots. The Ministry of Transport was also on scene to assist with road closures around the fire site, ensuring emergency vehicles could operate safely.
By mid-morning, Nicholson warned that the building had already sustained severe damage. “It’s unfortunately looking like significant damage, potentially a total loss,” he said at the time, later emphasizing that the structure had suffered “heavy, heavy damage.”
Those concerns were confirmed later in the day. Nicholson said firefighters remained on scene from approximately 7:47 a.m. until around 3:30 p.m., after which all units were cleared. “It is a total loss,” he confirmed in the afternoon update.
No injuries were reported as a result of the fire. Nicholson confirmed that there were “no injuries either to the public or to any firefighters on scene,” despite the fact that people were inside the store when the fire broke out.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. A fire investigator attended the scene during the day, but Nicholson said the investigation remains ongoing. “The cause is still undetermined,” he said in the later interview.
Nicholson said all responding units have now left the scene, bringing a lengthy and complex emergency response to a close.
Updated at 4:51 p.m. on Dec. 27