Public health food safety staff oversaw the Osler Drive Metro store's response and, after a lengthy closure to the store normally open 24-hours a day, recommended the store be reopened on Sunday, Feb. 7.

Bob Hart, manager of food safety in Hamilton’s public health department, said an inspector visited University Plaza twice over the weekend of Feb. 6-7 and found only the grocery store's food safety was affected by the power outage.

"The other stores in the plaza had access to auxiliary power so there were no cold chain issues associated with them," Hart said.

The East Side Mario’s restaurant did close at 9:30 p. m., Saturday, Feb. 6, when power was shut off.

Public health ordered Metro deli items, cooked food and soft cheese to be disposed of, while all other food items were moved to refrigeration trucks until power was returned to the store and storage temperatures could be brought to required levels.

Hamilton firefighters were called to the grocery twice on Saturday, Feb. 6. Just before 10:30 a. m. one truck responded to a report of smoke in the building's basement. There was no fire, but an electrical circuit had blown. An electrician was called to repair the electrical panel.

Just after 2 p. m., firefighters received a report of an explosion in the grocery store's basement. A full response for a structural fire was made. There was again no fire, but plenty of smoke as the electrical panel had blown a second time. This time, the Metro store was evacuated and closed to customers. Horizon Utilities was notified and responded by cutting power to the grocery store in order to allow repairs to take place. Isolating Metro from the system meant 11 other Horizon Utilities customers in the plaza also lost all power at the same time.

A Sunday, Feb. 7 reinspection by Public Health verified power had been restored to the grocery store and temperatures of refrigeration and freezer areas inside the store met standards. Public health recommended the store be reopened.