News from the City of St. Catharines
Posted December 27th, 2025 on Niagara At Large
Road closures in place as firefighters deal with hot spots, public asked to avoid the area
A pair of overnight fires at vacant buildings in downtown St. Catharines, including former St. Catharines Standard building, will be investigated by St. Catharines Fire Services investigators.
The former St. Catharines Standard, already facing a wrecking crew, following a major fire their earlier this December 2025. photo by Doug Draper
(A Brief Foreword by Doug Draper At Niagara At Large – Pardon me but whenever I hear or read that authorities are investigating building fires for the possibility of an arsonist going in with a can of propane or gasoline with the idea of possibly catching them, I can’t help but feel that it is going to amount to absolutely nothing, except for another waste of our taxdollars..
We have heard this ‘we are going to investigate’ line so many times before, whether it is the Welland House in St. Catharines, Welland Secondary School in the city by the same name, the grand old Welland Club building on King Street in that city, and the list goes on.
As for the old Standard building, I have visitied the site of the fire three times now to take pictures, and I have had people come up to me and say how easy it was for anyone to get in there. There was even some party that went in to the building sometime before the fire and showed broken down the place looked. (see that here –https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV7lnJoTrG8
Given all that, if the authorities, which I have long lost any respect for, catch the arsonists, I will light my car on fire in my driveway and, right now, I am not in a very good financial position to do that.
Now here is the news release – )
St. Catharines, Ontario – Firefighters remain on scene (as of this December 27th, 2025 around noon hour) of 9 Queen St., a former restaurant that has been vacant for some time, as well as next door at 17 Queen St. (the former St. Catharines Standard building that was destroyed by fire earlier this month), dealing with hotspots after a pair of fires last night and into early this morning.
Firefighters were originally called to 9 Queen St. at about 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 26, for a fire in the attic and roof area of the building. While crews were able to quickly gain control of the fire after a defensive attack, they brought in heavy equipment to pull the building down to allow firefighters to douse hotspots that continued to burn in the roof. Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire and secured the property, clearing the scene at about 1 a.m. this morning (Dec. 27).
Just an hour later fire crews received a call of a reported fire next door at 17 Queen St., which is currently fenced off for demolition efforts following the major fire on Dec. 5. The fire was discovered on the third floor of remaining portions of the building. Crews remain on scene of that fire as of this morning, dealing with hotspots with the support of the heavy equipment contractor that was being utilized for the demolition. Roads in the area, including Queen Street and William Street, are closed to support the effort, and the public is advised to avoid the area.
Fire Chief Dave Upper said at this point fire officials do not have a cause, but they will be investigating. Fire inspectors from St. Catharines Fire Services will be onsite in the coming days to investigate, and the fire chief has also reached out to the Office of the Fire Marshal and the Niagara Regional Police Arson Task Force for any further support, if possible.
What was left of he hisistoric St. Catharines Standard building shortly before this past Christmas Day. photo by Doug Draper
“We are doing our due diligence and will be investigating,” said Chief Upper. “While we don’t know the circumstances and can’t comment to that effect, we do know some form of combustible fuel source was used to ignite the fires because of the nature of them.”
The fire was contained to the two structures and did not extend to any of the other neighbouring buildings. Chief Upper thanked firefighters for their efforts.
“Crews worked through some challenging conditions with the extreme weather and ice on Friday night and did an excellent job containing the fire,” he said.
At this time no injuries have been reported, and fire officials indicate there are no safety concerns at this time, although the area will remain fenced off in the coming days to allow for the investigation and for further demolition efforts.
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