Cookstown market closed after grocery store fire, official says

A fire at a grocery store in Cookstown has temporarily closed the entire market to which it is attached.

Innisfil Fire and Rescue Services personnel, South Simcoe police and Simcoe County paramedics were called to a fire at Cookstown Foodland, located in a strip mall on Queen Street in the village, just before 6 a.m. on July 5.

says Fire Chief Brent Thomas InnisfilToday there was “smoke abatement” in all establishments in the market. As a result, the entire market will be closed until a structural engineer, employment standards, InnPower and the Simcoe Muskoka Health Unit issue a permit to occupy.

“Structural damage to the roof,” he said in an email Friday.

No one was inside the grocery store at the time of the incident, Thomas said.

South Simcoe police spokeswoman Isabella Soligo says when officers arrived the fire appeared to be minor and under control.

“Innisfil Fire advised police that there appears to be a ‘hot spot’ on an electrical panel area in Foodland,” she said. “While firefighters were putting out the fire, the store was filled with smoke.”

The incident is still under investigation, Soligo said.