Fire rips through former Peter Hay Knife Company building in Cambridge

Cambridge building destroyed by fire A building in Cambridge has been partially reduced to rubble after a fire. CTV’s Colton Wiens takes a look at the history of the building.

Emergency responders were called to a fire in Cambridge on Thursday as flames ripped through the building that formerly belonged to the Peter Hay Knife Company.

Waterloo Regional Police confirmed they were called to the Victoria Avenue area at 5:05 a.m.

"Everything was up in flames. It's so sad," Darline Rees, a witness said.

"I was sleeping in my bed, and I saw flashing lights through my window."

Darline Rees told CTV News she heard the commotion around quarter to five in the morning and went outside to see what was happening.

She was shocked to see the building at 43 Victoria Avenue was on fire.

"It was really big. The flames were probably just as high as the building or a bit higher," Rees said.

The City of Cambridge said crews arrived to heavy fire conditions. Shortly after, the roof collapsed in the front of the building.

Firefighters spent most of the day fighting the fire followed by methodically dismantling the building to search for and extinguish hot spots.

Heavy equipment was brought in to help bring parts of the building down.

No injuries have been reported but the city said the investigation into what caused the fire is ongoing.

The building is now mostly rubble in the front. It holds some history in the Galt area. The stone building was constructed in 1860 and was once the manufacturing shop for the Peter Hay Knife Company. The business later moved its operations to 351 Sheldon Drive.

The Victoria Avenue building is also on the City of Cambridge Heritage Properties Register but has never been designated as a heritage site. Still, those in the Galt area are upset to see this happen.

"It's really, really sad because it's the actual history of Cambridge. It's nice to have a little bit of history left around. So when you see stuff like this happen, it is upsetting,” Rees said.

Crews were previously called to the building for another fire in June.