Several stations responded to a fire at the Old Marina Restaurant on Lake Puslinch.
Cambridge Fire Service were first called to the scene on McClintock Drive at around 12.45pm on Saturday and were later joined by Puslinch and North Dumfries fire services.
Firefighters from Cambridge, North Dumfries and Puslinch are on the scene of a structure fire on Lake McClintock. Dr. Puslinch. No injuries were reported. @PuslinchFRS @CPFFALocal499 @NorthDumfriesFD @cityofcambridge pic.twitter.com/rSqpmqs9cW
— Cambridge Fire Department (@CambridgeFD) July 30, 2022
They say the fire was “fully involved” when they arrived and had to fight it from the outside from a defensive position.
“At one point you could see nothing but smoke,” said witness Christy Holdaway. “It’s just sad for the owners, you know, being in the park, you know the owners and they’ve had a lot of trouble this year, so it’s sad for them.”
Old Marina restaurant on Lake Puslinch in fire. (Terry Kelly/CTV Kitchener) (July 30, 2022)
No injuries were reported.
“We believe the area of origin is in the basement,” Puslinch Fire Chief Tom Mulvey said. “Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to look around to see what the cause is. We do not consider it suspicious at this time.
“It will be a total loss of the building. We’ll have some teams go in there after that’s over and we’re sure it’s safe. We’ll look around, but it looks like a total loss fire.”
Firefighters from Kitchener and Guelph were also called to assist.
“It didn’t look too bad at first, and then all of a sudden I saw the flames coming out and the windows blowing out,” said witness Albert Christian.
Around 3:45 p.m., the OPP tweeted that Lake Road was closed between Wellington Road 32 and Townline Road because of the fire.
“For an hour there were no flames, just smoke, and then the flames erupted,” said witness Mona Gaenizadeh. “It was very sad to see the owner and all the people in the park in front of my eyes. We love and care for them, they serve the community and many others. People come from all over Ontario to dine there. My heart goes out to them.”
This is the second fire at the restaurant since it opened in the 1990s.
“It’s just a sad day,” Holdaway said. “A lot of memories. Lots of history.
“People come from all over to come here. It’s hard to get reservations here. It’s always crowded, it’s always booked and it’s not just a restaurant, there are activities, people booking their weddings here.”
Mulvey adds that they will be bringing in an excavator to try to remove the roof to help deal with hot spots inside the building.
With a report by CTV Kitchener’s Colton Wiens
Small fire at the old restaurant at Puslinch Lake Marina pic.twitter.com/0qGUdkDYYr
— Brent Bullough (@brent_bullough) July 30, 2022
Add Comment