A late afternoon fire ripped through an abandoned military barracks in Carleton Place on Monday.
The building on County Road 29 between Ramsay Concession 8 and Drummond Road went up in flames about 4:30 Monday afternoon, drawing numerous onlookers who could spot the smoke from nearby Highway 7.
Dozens of volunteer firefighters from a number of municipalities struggled to contain the blaze. With no fire hydrants in the rural area, Mississippi Mills fire chief Pascal Meunier said water had to be trucked in, slowing down their progress . Chief Meunier also said a lack of fire separation in the old barracks had fire ripping from one end of the 200 foot-long building to the other in a short amount of time.
High winds added to the difficulty getting the blaze under control. Fire crews were still on scene well into the evening on Monday.
There are no reports of injuries.
The Ontario Fire Marshall's office is investigating.
