Metropolitan Stores incidents
On the Christmas evening of December 25, 1930, a blaze erupted from the Artemis Sweets confectionery store and completely demolished the adjoining Metropolitan store located at 146-148 Colborne Street in Brantford, Ontario. The fire was brought under control by the local fire department, with the assistance of one pumper and 17 firemen from the Hamilton department. The damage was estimated at nearly $150,000. Artemis Sweets was not rebuilt but the Metropolitan Store at 146 Colborne Street, was.[14]
On January 7, 1932, the Metropolitan on Dundas Street in London, Ontario was severely damaged in a disastrous fire that began at the T.F. Kingsmill Company department store which eventually spread to adjoining shops, including a dry goods store and a crockery company. The damage caused a loss estimated at $1 million and required a complete rebuilding of the store.[15]
On October 22, 1937, a three-alarm fire that raged through three buildings in the downtown area of Göttingen Street in Halifax, Nova Scotia also destroyed the three-storey wooden structure of the Metropolitan, as well as water and smoke damage to adjacent firms. The local fire department battled the blaze for four hours and damages were estimated at $100,000.[16]
On September 10, 1938, a fire damaged the top floors of the three-storey Metropolitan store building at 101st Street and 101A Avenue in Edmonton, Alberta. The building, valued at approximately $100,000, was gutted the following day on the second and third floors and much of the stock (valued at $250,000) was damaged. Customers and employees were ordered by store officials to vacate the premises as soon as the smoke was first noticed. The building was re-designed and upgraded in 1962. When the Metropolitan Store left the building in the early 1980s, the building was converted into offices and was later demolished in 1990.[17]
On July 31, 1957, a fire which destroyed a whole corner block of stores and second-storey apartments, spread quickly to the adjoining Metropolitan and the Lady Ann Dress Shop at the Treasure Island Mall on Wellington Road in Tillsonburg, Ontario. No one was injured and damages were estimated to be well over $100,000.[18]
On October 25, 1960, a massive gas explosion destroyed the building housing the Metropolitan at 439 Ouellette Avenue in Windsor, Ontario. Ten people were killed and one hundred others were injured. The explosion blew out the building's rear wall and the second floor collapsed, trapping employees and customers, many of whom were senior citizens who had been sitting earlier at the lunch counter. Hundreds of rescuers, many of them volunteers, scrambled through the rubble searching for the wounded and the dead. The furnace was being changed from coal to gas. The cause of the explosion was a broken gas line in the basement. The main floor blew out, allowing the upper two floors to collapse into the space. The plumbing contractor was found at fault for not using proper procedures. The building was eventually demolished.[19] The 50th anniversary of the event was commemorated by the Windsor Star on October 23, 2010, and was also featured on History Television's Disasters of the Century.
On July 26, 1976, a fire destroyed the Metropolitan at the corner of Royal Road and Saskatchewan Avenue in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. The local Fire Chief was full of praise for his staff's work, as well as the volunteers who helped keep the fire from spreading to adjacent business locations. Shortly thereafter, the Metropolitan Store was rebuilt and reopened for business and the new store featured modern fixtures and a larger lunch counter.[20]
On December 6, 1979, improper furnace conditions at the Metropolitan on Rideau Street in downtown Ottawa, Ontario caused toxic gases to accumulate to levels that sent 21 employees to the hospital. An investigation found that three small doors on a furnace air unit were propped open, allowing carbon monoxide and other poisonous gases to pollute air in the store's main sales area. Ottawa Gas Company tests confirmed that carbon monoxide was the cause of the symptoms the victims suffered and that a buildup of carbon in the furnace and in the chimney were a contributing factor. A work crew cleaned out the furnace and made repairs to the chimney and the store re-opened later that same evening at 6:00 p.m.[21]
