Tenant describes 'absolutely shocking' damage of fire that spread from popular Hamilton restaurant

When Wynne Baker answered a phone call from her neighbour alerting her of a fire in her apartment building last Thursday, she took off sprinting.

From her office at city hall, Baker, 30, ran down Main Street, panicking that her partner Zach Fern and dog Pepper hadn't escaped their home on James Street North. 

Realizing she wouldn't be able to run the full distance in the heels she was wearing, Baker said she stopped a passing pickup truck, banged on the window, urging the driver to help and jumped in.

"It was a straight shot down James, but of course we hit every single red light," Baker recounted to CBC Hamilton on Monday.

She got out at Mulberry Street, where fire crews had blocked off James Street with caution tape as they continued to fight the fire. A firefighter assured Baker that Fern and Pepper had gotten out safely and she reunited with them soon after. 

"It was such a relief," Baker said. "My brain was going in a million different directions about all the bad things that could've happened to the two of them." 

The "stubborn" fire originated from the kitchen of Charred, a popular rotisserie chicken restaurant on the building's main floor, said Fire Chief Dave Cunliffe in a statement last week.

Flames spread through the cooking system ductwork into the building's second and third floors where tenants lived.

Baker said Fern was sleeping when the fire began around noon, and Pepper, likely afraid of the smoke, was hiding behind a desk. A police officer entered their unit and woke Fern up. Fern managed to grab Pepper and they got out safely. 

"I'm so incredibly grateful to the cop," Baker said. "If Zach had stayed in the bedroom for even five minutes longer, the smoke would have been too thick for him to find Pepper." 

Almost all belongings destroyed

All eight tenants escaped without injuries and all their pets survived including another dog and two cats, Baker said.  

Another cat, Tchotchke, was trapped inside one of the units for over two hours and received emergency vet care, according to a GoFundMe fundraising page posted by another tenant. As of Tuesday, more than $9,000 had been raised to cover the vet costs. 

Most of the units and tenants' belongings were destroyed by fire, smoke, grease and water from the extinguishing efforts, said Baker.

When the firefighters opened her top floor unit's windows, she said the amount of smoke billowing out was "absolutely shocking" and the amount of damage was going to be significant. 

She and Fern have lost almost everything, she said. They moved in only two weeks ago, and hadn't set up their tenants' insurance yet. 

"My instinct always in situations like this is to make a joke and say I'm fine, but I'm doing my best to fight that instinct and just be honest and say not great. I'm not doing great," Baker said.

Tenants in limbo

Baker said the landlord, who also owns Charred, has hired an engineer to determine if the building is structurally sound. If it is, repairs can begin soon. If it's not, the process will be prolonged. For now, she's moved in with her parents and is stuck in "limbo." 

Through another GoFundMe fundraising page, the community has donated close to $10,000 to help Baker, Zach and Pepper start over.

"The biggest thing is how incredible everyone has been," she said.

Charred didn't respond to a request for comment, but posted to its social media pages that no one was hurt in the fire and the restaurant is closed until further notice.

"The safety of our patrons and staff is our utmost priority, and we are working diligently with the fire department to address the situation," the statement said.

According to an order by the city, posted in the restaurant's window after the fire, the restaurant owner must "immediately" secure the building and provide an engineer's letter about its structural stability.

The fire department said the cost of the damage had not yet been determined.