Hamilton’s fire department responded to reports of a fire in the area of Hamilton’s West Harbour GO station shortly after 9:15 p.m. on May 28, 2026.
In a phone interview on May 29, Hamilton Fire Chief Dave Cunliffe said firefighters responded to reports of a shed fire on an vacant lot at 32–36 Tiffany Street.
Upon arrival, the fire crew found a 50-foot-by-20-foot trailer fully consumed by an intense fire. Additional units were dispatched due to exposed buses around the trailer. Crews quickly contained and put out the first.
Chief Cunliffe said the fire has been deemed suspicious, the Ontario Fire Marshal and Hamilton Police are investigating. There were no occupants in the trailer, and nobody was injured.
The vacant lands that have been owned by companies known as the White Star Group.
The property was subject to a power of sale in 2021, and in April 2026 was listed for tax sale due to outstanding property taxes. The owners paid enough of the outstanding tax bills to halt the forced sale.
The fire occurred one day after the City of Hamilton issued a series of property standards orders requiring the owners, White Star Group, to remove rubbish, debris, and overgrown vegetation, and to secure the property against trespassers.
Located at 271 Bay Street North, 107 Stuart Street, and 34–36 Tiffany Street in the West Harbour district, the properties were previously used as an auto salvage yard known as White Star Auto Wreckers. White Star Group purchased the lands in the late 1990s, resolving more than $600,000 in outstanding back taxes with the city in the process. While the developer initially applied to build a medium-density residential complex—including a proposed eight-storey, 164-unit luxury condominium building known as West Harbour Villa at Tiffany Square—the site has remained undeveloped and subject to extensive litigation.
There is an active civil suit filed by White Star Group against the City of Hamilton. During the past 15 years, the company has unsuccessfully pursued various avenues of litigation against the city for not expropriating the lands after Hamilton City Council abandoned plans to build a new stadium in the Barton/Tiffany area in early 2011.
In April 2021, the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal, as the Ontario Land Tribunal was then known, dismissed an action by White Star Group seeking $32,893,970.00 in damages. In the scathing decision, an LPAT Vice-Chair noted the “inconsistency” of the claim.
“How can the Claimant claim that it could not carry through on its proposed development while also demanding that the City complete an expropriation of its lands which would render development at this location by the claimant impossible?”
The LPAT determined “White Star’s conduct was unreasonable, unnecessary, and in most cases without legal basis” and issued a rare costs penalty against the group of companies.
Most recently, in April 2026, the City of Hamilton listed 32–34 Tiffany for tax sale with a minimum bid of $102,404.87, and 107 Stuart for tax sale with a minimum bid of $90,528.44. The owners paid enough of the outstanding tax bills and halted the forced sale.
On May 27, 2026, following complaints filed by nearby residents, the City posted cleanup orders at the properties.
TPR will be following up with the City of Hamilton regarding the property ownership and standards orders.
Production Details
v. 1.1.0
Published: May 28, 2026
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Author: Joey Coleman
Update Record
v. 1.0.0 original version
v. 1.1.0 May 29, 10:30 a.m., updated with information provided by Hamilton’s Fire Chief. A trailer was the object on fire in photos. The 1.0.0 version of this story included eyewitness statements that a shed on the property may have been the structure on fire.