Chris Lowrey
SHAWVILLE Aug. 12, 2017
A fire at Hardy Plants in Shawville caused extensive damage in the early morning hours of Aug. 12.
Firefighters responded to the call just after 4 a.m. and the police received a call at around 6 a.m.

“The building is done for sure,” said Hardy Plants owner Shandy Ardern. “One of the greenhouses is gone too.”
The extent of the damage is not yet known but Ardern said he is hopeful two of the three greenhouses were saved.
In the meantime, Kelly’s Green Thumb Garden Centre has given some space to Hardy Plants to keep their flower shop going.
“We’re partners on the property with Kelly’s,” Ardern said. “So we’re going to move the flower shop side of it to Kelly’s.”
However, in the immediate aftermath of the fire, Ardern is still evaluating his options.
“Even if we rebuild, it’s months and months away,” he said.
With the fire taking place in the wee hours of the morning, nobody was in the building at the time. There were no injuries.
Police said that the cause of the fire does not appear to be criminal, so they will not be investigating further.