‘Suspicious’ fire rips through landmark Newmarket building, again

Yorkregion.com
July 24, 2023

For the second time in a little over a year, a Newmarket landmark was gutted by fire.

This time, York Regional Police say the fire at Klein Horsman Carpet One is ‘deemed suspicious.’

YRP responded to a fire at the building just east of Main Street on Davis Drive shortly before 8 p.m. July 22.

Davis Drive was closed for several hours overnight to battle the blaze and reopened around 4 a.m.

The building was empty and no injuries were reported.

The investigation is ongoing. And investigators are waiting for an official report from the Ontario Fire Marshal regarding the cause of the fire and amount of damages.

A little more than a year ago, fire crews battled a blaze at the same building where the upper floor was mostly destroyed.

“I spent most of my adult life working here and all of a sudden it’s gone,” said Klein Horsman Carpet One co-owner Russ Gale after the June 2022 fire.

The building is gone, again.

The business started in the mid-1960s and was closed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when the first fire ripped through the building.

Now, all that’s left are the charred exterior walls, a pile of burned bricks and debris.

The landmark ‘Klein Horsman Carpet One’ mural on the otter east wall can still be seen from Davis Drive ,along with a lone display board plastered with carpet samples.

York Regional Police is asking anyone with information, including security camera or dash cam footage of the incident, to contact #1 District Criminal Investigations Bureau at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 7142.

Or, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or leave an anonymous tip online at www.1800222tips.com.