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"Fire leveled five stores, and the dwellings above them last Wednesday afternoon. The alarm sounded at 1:10 o'clock and destroyed were Harry's Meat Market, the Model Bakery, Evan's Men's and Boy's Wear, Breen's Refrigeration Service and the Bradford 5?? to $1.00 Store. Mrs. Bannerman, owner of the latter store, who had her apartment over the store also lost her home, as did those residing in the rooms upstairs over the bakery and the men's and boy's wear store. The tenants upstairs in this building were Mr. and Mrs. Ward and their children, 4-year-old son Graham, and 3-month-old twins; Mr. and Mrs. Van Der Donke, and Mrs. Olive Evans the mother of D. Arthur Evans, owner of the building in which their quarters were located. They lost everything. Mrs. Evans, who was in the restaurant, got her purse but that was all.

Wednesday being a holiday in Bradford, it would appear that the fire gained considerable headway before being discovered, because almost immediately after the alarm billowing clouds of smoke marked the scene and this smoke spread very rapidly through the buildings. So quickly did this smoke spread that re-entry to the buildings was almost impossible, and practically nothing was saved by the occupants of the buildings. They were fortunate that the fire occurred at an hour when they were awake and thus alert to make good their escape.

The fire was noted by a waitress in the Model Bakery restaurant, when smoke became very noticeable. Finding the phone out of order, Mrs. Floyd McDonnell rushed to the street to give the alarm. She called to a man, who ran to the Queen's Hotel from where Russ. Tupling, who was talking to Eddie McEvoy, turned in the alarm. The impression seems to be that the fire started in the meat shop, but smoke poured so quickly from all three buildings - the meat shop, the bakery and the mens wear - and excitement was so great, everyone seems to be confused.

Bradford firemen were on the scene within a couple of minutes of the sounding of the alarm and made a terrific fight to check the fire, but the meat market, the bakery and the mens wear stores were so quickly engulfed in flames that very early in the fire the fire-fighters knew that the entire section was doomed and that the best they could hope to do was to stop the fire's progress at the brick walls at the west and east ends of the fire - Evans & Evans law office building and the Bank of Commerce. Holland street, in that section, was darkened by the think smoke and, but for the fact that roofs were snow covered, the danger to buildings on the south side of Holland street was great. A window in Bradford Bargain House broke as a result of the heat. Then the wind veered, carrying the danger away from Evans & Evans law offices, but making the fight to save the Bank of Commerce more desperate. Until the Bradford 5?? to $1 building toppled many thought the bank was doomed, and had it gone there is no guessing where the fire would have ended. Smoke by that time was dense along Barrie street and burning materials were falling on the roofs on the east side of that street.

Calls for assistance were sent to neighbouring firemen and their response was prompt.

To name those who stood by, lending assistance in their own way, through the long hours of the afternoon, the evening and the night, would be risky, in that someone would be overlooked,but the locals who provided a continuous service of hot coffee and sandwiches, as did the Salvation Army, gave a tremendous service, making it possible for the firemen to stay on their job throughout the long hours of cold.

Very early in the fire, the explosions of ammunition in Evan's Men's and Boy's Wear stores, added to the excitement.

The only standing object, in that entire section of the Holland street north block between Evans & Evans law office building and the Bank of Commerce, today is the oven which was at the rear of the bakery. It alone "marks the spot". All else is a blackened mess, in a dark hole, beside the street. The loss is complete."

"Owners of businesses destroyed in last Wednesday's fire are making arrangements to carry on business in temporary quarters and are planning a building program. According to present plans, a fine new business block will rise this year on the site of the stores destroyed in last Wednesday's conflagration." ...

"The Witness surely expresses the feelings of all residents of the district in extending sympathy to those who stood helpless last Wednesday afternoon and watched their flourishing businesses destroyed by fire." ...

This article relates to the fire of Bradford on June 24th, 1862, which originated in an unknown stable in the main city sector. There is no lasting record of a newspaper published during the week of the fire.

"Fire Inquest

On Friday morning last [June 27th], Corner Allen, with a Jury, held an inquiry into the causes of the late fire. About a dozen witnesses were examined, after which the jury returned the following verdict:
'We, the Jury empannelled to inquire into the causes or origin of the fire that occurred in this village on the night of the 24th [June] inst., having heard the testimony brought before us, are of the opinion that such fire originated through accident, whose cause is unknown to this Jury.
-A.S. Warburton, Foreman'
No evidence was adduced to show that there was either a candle or lamp in the stable on the evening in question."

Recounts the fire at John Kirkpatrick's Hotel, originally the Burns' Hotel, in Bond Head on September 23, 1854.

South Simcoe News
Volume 6, Number 274
June 15, 1871
p.2

Description : The flooding of the Marsh on October 15th, 1954, is one occasion not easily forgotten by those who were part of the Springdale community at that time. It had already rained for weeks. We were behind in the harvesting, and most of the onions were still in the field, bagged up and stacked in long rows. On that Friday, October 15th the rain kept pouring down, and an all-time record of 7" of rain was recorded for the Toronto area. Hurricane Hazel had entered the mainland just south of Myrtle Beach, leaving a path of destruction and devastation with winds over 90 miles per hour, and torrential rains. It crossed Lake Ontario near Toronto. At 7:30 p.m. that Friday we received a phone call to leave for higher ground. Laying sandbags on the dikes had proven a hopeless task, as the water that came roaring down from the surrounding hills was just too much. We put some suitcases on the truck and left our house. For a few minutes, the rain stopped, the sky was clear above, and the stillness was eerie. Then it started again: the wind, the rain, the darkness. The roads were full of gullies. Weston Road, then the 6th Concession of King Twp., was under construction, and turned into a river of mud. The water in the canal was close to the top of the dike. I got out of the truck to check whether the bridge was still there. We followed the townline eastward. A 3' wide creek east of Highway 400 had turned into a raging river, boiling 2' high over the small bridge. About 10 cars were standing there, the drivers debating whether it was safe to cross. One look was enough. We turned around and went back to the wooden canal bank road to Wist Road. This road was also full of gullies, washed out by the water coming down from the 400. While travelling south on the 400, we encountered a huge landslide just south of highway 9. The whole side of the hill had slid down, all but blocking the southbound lanes. A Gray Coach bus was lying on its side in the median. That was enough. We turned off at the Aurora side road and sought refuge at the farmhouse of George and Helen Sportel. Already 30 people were there. The men slept downstairs and the women and children upstairs, where the bedrooms were, We had no blankets, beds or pillows for the men, but at least we were high and dry. At 11 p.m., I went back to take a look at our house. It was still there, but the land was under water, and water levels were creeping up the driveway. When I tried to drive a little further, the road disappeared under water. I brought some furniture upstairs, but still did not think that the water would reach the floor, which at that time was still at least 2' above the flood. The next morning at 6 a.m., we climbed a hill, and saw a Holland Marsh that was now a large lake. Only the roofs of the houses seemed to be above the water. It was a cold, still morning, but sunny, and for the first time in weeks it was not raining.

Front page of the first Bradford Witness paper after the Holland Marsh flood due to Hurricane Hazel on October 15, 1954. See Related Descriptions below for individual stories of this edition.

"Immediate credit, to the extent of $100,000 by the Provincial Government, was promised by Premier Leslie Frost within a matter of minutes after his arrival by car to attend a meeting with the Holland Marsh Emergency Relief Committee, held in the Township of West GWillimbury municipal office on Monday. ..."

"Toronto - The Canadian Mobile Home Association has announced an offer to provide more than two hundred mobile homes at cost price to victims of the Ontario flood. The C.M.H.A. has pulled its dealers from Winnipeg to Quebec City. Mobile homes can be made available on twenty-four hours' notice and hauled immediately to the stricken areas. ..."