A massive fire late Monday evening has levelled a downtown building, destroying two retail stores and causing what could be as much as $1 million in damage.

According to Bracebridge fire chief Murray Medley, the fire was discovered around 11 p.m. at 232 Manitoba Street, the building that contained a Surf Paradise outlet and an electronics business called Bridge City Radio.

The building was fully engulfed in flames when fire crews arrived, Medley said.

Firefighters, however, were able to contain the fire and stop it from spreading to the South Muskoka Medical Centre next door.

“They really knew what they were doing,” Darl Dillabough, co-owner of the medical clinic building, said about firefighters. “They were quite good at keeping it under control.”

Dillabough, whose own building suffered only minor damage, witnessed the fire and said it spread quickly throughout the stores.

“In about a half an hour it was just one big ball of flames…it was just destroyed,” he said.

Medley said fire crews were able to gain control of the fire around midnight.

The cause of the blaze has not yet been determined, he said. The Ontario Fire Marshall’s office was on scene Tuesday to investigate.

Medley pegged the damage to the building at around $1 million, though investigators will come up with a more precise estimate in the coming days, he said.