Brett Thoms
Luskville January 29, 2023
A fire burned down an out-of-business restaurant and three apartments near the intersection of Hwy. 148 and chemin Eardley Masham on Sunday evening.
No one was injured in the fire, but at least one family was displaced, according to Municipality of Pontiac (MoP) and La Pêche Fire Chief Benoit Chartrand.
Chartrand said the fire department received the call at 8 p.m. and firefighters from the MoP arrived shortly afterward. The cause is still under investigation, though it is thought to have started in the attic.
He explained that after an initial search verifying the building was empty, the responders went into defensive mode due to the conditions of the fire.
“It was a wood structure and we needed some help to completely extinguish the fire,” Chartrand said.
About 40 firefighters from the MoP and La Pêche were on the scene at the peak of the fire.
“It was minus 18 to minus 20, so that complicated our job a little bit,” Chartrand said. He also added the age of the building and winter conditions made it too dangerous to send anyone onto the roof, further adding to the difficulty of putting it out.
Chartrand said fire fighters were on the scene until 4 a.m. on Monday.
“It was a long battle,” he said, adding that firefighters had .to demolish parts of the building in order to reach hot spots. As a result, the building was a total loss, according to Chartrand.
One thing that made it easier to extinguish the fire was the fact that it happened late at night.
“We didn’t have traffic on the 148. So it was easy for us to get by into the water hydrants and back to the scene. So that was a plus,” Chartrand said.
The restaurant in the building was closed and was most recently known as Au Coin du Cammioneur, though it is commonly known as the site of the old restaurant The Seven Sisters, among various other names.
Donations can be made to the family at the Dépanner du Pontiac located across the highway from the fire.
