Ontario Fire Marshal's burned bridge investigation lingers

Nearly nine months after the fire on the James Street swing bridge, investigators continue to look for the cause.

The probe is in the hands of the Ontario Fire Marshal's office, which is still gathering information from CN Rail, according to office spokesperson Carol Gravelle.

Gravelle said CN has been asked to provide documentation to help experts further examine some items that were collected at the fire scene last fall.

She noted the length of Ontario Fire Marshal investigations can vary.

"Generally it's about six- to eight-months, but may take longer depending on what's involved".

Area homeowners like Lorne Krisko, who has lived near the bridge for 20 years, are waiting to hear the results.

Krisko said, until the fire, it was a hangout for the homeless.

If you look underneath there, very closely, and the way the hill is up, there's a nice flat area. A lot of the homeless people, they come underneath the bridge, they sleep there, and that's sort of like a home to them.

Krisko said he has seen no one going beneath the bridge since the fire, because of the debris that's still there.

"There hasn't been anybody sleeping underneath the bridge here because of the condition of it, he said.

They know the bridge won't fall, but when you got all that black tar and ash and everything, I don't think they want to be sleeping and getting all black and dirty from all that tar."

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