Publication date: Jul 04, 2022 • 11 minutes ago • 1 minute read • Join the discussion A derelict former Dairy Queen site on Wharncliffe Road South in London has been gutted by arson that officials have deemed suspicious. The photo was taken on Monday, July 4, 2022. (Mike Hensen/The London Free Press)
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A fire which destroyed the former Dairy Queen on Wharncliffe Road South is being investigated as a suspicious fire, one of two that broke out in the early hours of Monday morning in London.
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Firefighters arrived at a “fully involved” fire that tore through the empty ice cream shop around 5am on Monday, the second fire there in seven months. The store north of Base Line Road was also hit by fire in December.
It’s unclear what caused the most recent fire, but no one appeared to be living in the vacant structure, said Fire Chief Colin Sewell.
“There are no utilities or hydro or gas or anything else in this building,” he said.
“It’s secured right now by one of our city contractors. We’ll have some fencing and board it up until the next steps are determined by the city’s building department.”
London police are investigating.
No one was injured.
A few hours later, fire crews battled another blaze, this time at a block of flats near Oxford Street West and Hyde Park Road. One occupant was displaced in the 7 a.m. fire at 85 Fiddlers Green Rd., but no one was injured. The fire, which caused $150,000 in damage, was also later ruled suspicious.
The Dairy Queen fires were not the only ones in the Wharncliffe South area recently. An abandoned, dilapidated industrial building one block south at 10 Center St. went up in flames on Aug. 10, 2021, blanketing the area with toxic smoke and prompting authorities to ask nearby residents to stay inside with their windows closed.
That fire, also deemed suspicious, destroyed the structure. It had already been approved for demolition, after years of orders, as the building was dilapidated. It was finally destroyed after the fire.
