The Douglas Trading Post, formerly the location of the historic Douglas Tavern, was destroyed in a fire on Monday evening.
The blaze started around 8 p.m. Monday night with crews from multiple jurisdictions working until 3 a.m. Tuesday to get the blaze under control. Fire crews worked until 5 a.m., before returning to the scene at 9 a.m. to continue treating hotspots.
No injuries were reported.
Owners of the Douglas Trading Post and Diner, Dan Peters and Amanda Todd, say they are devasted after staying up all night, watching their home and business go up in flames.
“Like a rolling stone, now we have no home. We have no life. We have no business. It’s been all three,” said Dan Peters, speaking with CTV News Tuesday.
“It’s not good to put all your eggs in one basket, I guess. But that’s what we did.”
Peters and Todd were able to escape the burning building along with their pets. Three other people inside the building were also escorted out by firefighters.
The location is more than a century old, dating back to the 1880’s, and operated for decades as the Douglas Tavern and Hotel.
Douglas Fire Chief Bill McHale says multiple layers of roof inhibited fire crews from attacking the flames sooner.
“There’s a fake ceiling upon a fake ceiling in there, and it was somewhere in between those ceilings that the fire had got a good start to it,” said McHale. “Once it started to grow, we had an awful time trying to catch it.”
When it operated as a tavern and hotel, McHale’s family were the owners. The tavern was known for hosting iconic St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.
McHale grew up in the building, and watched his former home and family business go up in smoke.
“We lost my dad in October, and we just lost another member of our family. I don’t know how else to say it,” he said.
“It’s hard to put it into words. It’s not mine anymore, but it’s a part of me, it always will be. And to have to have to make that phone call to mom and tell her that it’s gone; she hasn’t been here yet, and I hope she doesn’t come today, but it’s a tough one.”
McHale says even as the call came in Monday night for the fire, it was still referred to as “the tavern” over the radio.
Located in Douglas, Ont., the Douglas Trading Post is approximately 117 kilometres northwest of downtown Ottawa. The business was operating as an auction house, mattress store and collectibles store.
The site was an anchor point for the Douglas community for generations of residents in eastern Ontario.
Twenty-eight-year-old Victoria Rowan has lived across from the building her entire life, and says the smoke and flames kept her up all night.
“There were lots of memories made there, and I used to step dance over there when it was St. Patrick’s Day,” Rowan said.
“It was like watching somebody that you love die,” Todd said. “It was a part of us.”
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No cause of the fire has been determined at this point. McHale says the Ontario Fire Marshall will not be investigating the scene, given that the extensive damage would not turn up any answers.
“Electrical is something that we’re going to be suspecting but as of this point we can’t say,” said McHale.
Based on square footage, McHale puts to the cost of rebuilding between the $5-million to $7-million mark.
“How do you put a value on the loss of a building like that? And with its contents, all their belongings are in there. They got out with their medication and their dogs,” said the fire chief.
“But boy, would it be nice to see something on this corner.”
Peters and Todd tell CTV News that the building was as insured as it could be given its age and historical community significance but are not expecting the payout to cover the cost of rebuilding.
Nevertheless, many in the area have an appetite to see the community hub return in some form.
“I can say with absolute certainty that the community would be behind that effort,” said Admaston/Bromley mayor Michael Donohue.
“We’re going to rebuild what we can and go back to work,” said Peters, noting the site will never return to what it once was.
“What we’re going to do, whether we’ll go back to a restaurant or not, I don’t know.”
“It’s definitely going to be something serving the community,” added Todd. “That’s something that we both really do like.”
