Fire destroys Tobermory landmark - Owen Sound Sun Times - Ontario, CA
Fire destroys Tobermory landmark
Fire destroyed the landmark Crowsnest Pub in Tobermory early Friday morning but its owners, who were sleeping in a third-storey apartment there, escaped the blaze without injury, Northern Bruce Peninsula Fire Chief Mike Henderson said Saturday.
A police investigation ruled out arson and officials from the Ontario Fire Marshal's office left the cause as "undetermined."
The scene was turned over to an insurance adjuster early Saturday afternoon, when a high-hoe behind the burned out three-story establishment set to work.
Crowsnest owners Matthew and Kristin Buckley are staying with friends in the area. Matthew Buckley said in an interview that they intend to rebuild.
The main floor walls are standing and part of the second storey walls also remain. A preliminary estimate of the value of the lost building alone is $600,000 to $700,000, Henderson said.
The fire was reported about 3 a.m. Friday. Matt Buckley saw flames on the second floor after a fire alarm sounded.
In all, about 20 firefighters, including five from Lion's Head, fought to contain the fire. Damage was limited to some smoke in the adjacent grocery store and to melted siding on the Divers Den dive shop.
Winds were very strong and it was cold for firefighters, Henderson said. "So they did a fantastic job. Unfortunately within a couple hours you know, it was pretty much gone," Henderson said.
The building contained a bookstore, pizza shop and deli, while the second floor housed the pub and outdoor patio. Henderson estimated the oldest parts of the building to be as much as 100 years old. It had been added to over the years and a lot of the building was wooden.
It's a central venue in the village for live musical entertainment, with regular appearances by Canadian folk great Valdy and others this past summer and over the years.
"In the summertime it's always very busy and they have folk music, folk singers in every weekend and during the week sometimes," said local resident Gwen White. "It's very popular with the tourists. And they made the best breakfast -- They make the best breakfast -- I'm sure they'll rise again," said a woman who would identify herself only as Alice.
Peacock's Foodland is to the immediate north of the Crowsnest. Owner Rick Peacock said he saw flames "close to five storeys high" when he arrived after 3 a.m. "For a volunteer fire department they did a fantastic job."
In one respect the wind helped too, by pushing the fire up towards the harbour and somewhat away from his store, he said.
"It was fully engulfed. The guys just stayed outside and put water to it," said fire platoon chief Dave Bricker, of the NBP Fire and Emergency Services.
"There was no sense anybody going in because there was nobody inside the building," he said. "Our firefighters did an exceptional job of containing it to the one building." Five hoses poured water on the structure.
He and other firefighters assisted the Coast Guard to pull containment booms from the harbour Saturday afternoon. They were set to intercept runoff from the fire which had unfolded steps away.
The remaining structure was unsafe to enter and so the Fire Marshal's office conducted its investigation from outside the building, Bricker said.
The Fire Marshal investigator left the cause as "undetermined," Bricker said. As for its origin, "he couldn't come up with a conclusion from what he could see without getting right in the building."
Bruce Peninsula OPP Det.-Const. Troy Doersam said by mid-afternoon Saturday of the fire "It's not suspicious," and he was "not investigating an arson." He is waiting on some information from the Fire Marshal's office but "We're basically done at this point."
The site was left to an insurance adjuster and a private fire investigation specialist. An OPP forensic identification expert from Mount Forest who photographed the building remains, joined them inside the main floor of the structure, behind yellow caution tape.
just kidding. Ok food was ok, but not all that good. When new guys took it over I asked them to introduce real cheese on their nachos and they did. I love nachos and I hope it was good advise and not the reason for the bar to burn
