A week ago this morning, residents of the Glebe neighbourhood were waking up to the destruction of several businesses in the area. Late the previous evening, fire broke out in this building, originating in a newly opened coffee shop. It took several hours of work by local fire crews to put the blaze down. Fortunately no one died, with only one injury sustained by someone passing by at the time, hit by glass, and the damage was contained to this structure. Investigators have determined it is a case of arson. When I took this photograph, firefighters and police officers were working the scene beyond the barricade.
The businesses were half franchises and half independent shops. The destruction was significant, and it will take months for a rebuild on this place. One business, a hair salon, had been in business for more than thirty years. Coming through here a week ago, I could smell the scent a long way away. As of yesterday, the smell of smoke and ash still lingered as I passed by.
It is a pity.The police should find out who did.
ReplyDeleteTomás.
What a terrible thing. I hope the people will be able to rebuild, that is often the hardest part.
ReplyDeleteDespicable.
ReplyDelete:(
ReplyDeleteTerrible... good no one died and hopefully is the damage covered by insurance.
ReplyDeletewow, you well described the shock and lingering effects
ReplyDeleteALOHA from Honolulu,
ComfortSpiral
=^..^=
That is always so sad and scary at the same time, a fire destroyes so much, not only the building but also the lives of the owners.
ReplyDeleteNot Ottawa's finest hour. Sorry this happened in your beautiful city.
ReplyDeleteJanis
GDP
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ReplyDeleteProbably for insurance purposes too. Sad for all involved.
ReplyDelete*on another note--- What Subban, no suspension???? And the Montreal fans(?) BOOED when they heard it was a penalty? I thought the Hab fans knew ice hockey.Beat 'em! They suck!
ReplyDelete
I agree with Birdman. Not a happy situation. Loved your comment about squirrels and nuts and leaning trees.
ReplyDeleteAll because of a stupid person who couldn't care less about the other people affected by their actions.
ReplyDeleteJane x
That is awful in your beautiful town. We are having it in Toronto also. We had the bridge pieces falling down and hitting peoples windshields. Then they patched it. Problem is it never lasted how could it. The iron inside is rotten behind the stone concrete. So they plan to pull down the Gardner Express way and build a new bridge thank goodness with a 8 lines for traffic. Also they are starting the drilling and all elsewhere down town six weeks ago. Bummer.
ReplyDeleteWe've had several cases of arson in this area in the past few years. I hope whoever did this in your neighborhood is caught and punished.
ReplyDeleteHmmmm. How can arsonists be so cruel?
ReplyDeleteThat must have been quite a fire. I hope the police will find out who did this.
ReplyDeleteWhen there are no personal casualties, the most terrible part of fire is loosing (all) your personal belongings and memories, I think.
so very sorry and such an incredible waste! glad no one was seriously hurt!
ReplyDeleteVery sad for owners and customers. It's a waste in somany ways.
ReplyDeleteOh, my how tragic. That is an awful odor. I wonder if one of the shops was in trouble financially and trying to collect on insurance. May have had no idea of the extent of the fire.
ReplyDelete@Tomas: hopefully they do so quickly.
ReplyDelete@Halcyon: it does end up taking time. There was a notice just down the street- the salon has set up temporary quarters with another salon not that far away.
@Merisi: arson is a despicable act. It's fortunate that this building was self contained- there's a small apartment building to the right that was untouched, but having an alleyway between them would have made the difference.
@Anna: very much so.
@Karl: cases like this, the insurance is there, but it's the work that goes into it that's gone. I don't know what's harder- for the salon being there all those years or those people who just started up operations in the coffee shop and the taco shop in the last couple of months.
@Cloudia: oddly, my sense of smell is not that well developed (whereas my hearing is more than developed), but that smell of burned building carries through the air a long way off, and it does linger for days on end.
@Marianne: and the worry is if this is something other than a professional job- if it's someone who sets fires because he loves fires.
@Janis: it must have gone up fast- the nearest fire house is just two blocks away from here.
@Birdman: that is something I'm sure the investigators are looking at. As for the series, we shall see what happens. I expect it'll go six or seven games.
@Lowell: thanks!
@Jane and Chris: whoever did it is a horrible person.
@Carolann: the Gardner should have been torn down years ago.
@Norma: there was a fire in this area a couple of years back, but not arson. I remember seeing the smoke coming over the bridge, wondering if the retirement home was on fire, but it was a building beyond that.
@EG: if it's a professional, that's one thing. If it's a lunatic, that's much more dangerous.
@Jan: if it takes five or more hours to put out, that was a bad one. At least they kept it contained.
@Tex: it was a waste. The one good aspect of it all was that it was so late in the evening.
@Red: it is.
@Linda: well it started in the coffee shop, but that place had quite literally just started a couple of months ago. It might well be someone in the circles of a shop owner who had a grudge.
This is very sad... I hope everything comes back to normal as soon as possible!
ReplyDeletehopefully they will get to the bottom of this.
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame that is.
ReplyDeleteHow horrible. Hopefully police will catch the arsonist. And I hope they can rebuild the area soon.
ReplyDeleteDon't you wish they could find the arsonist and put his feet to the fire!
ReplyDeleteThat's shocking William. It happens here a lot, usually in the bush and parklands but sometimes very near residences.. I know it's a sickness, but I really don't understand how people can deliberately put peoples lives and homes in danger.
ReplyDeleteBest news is no one was killed in the fire.
ReplyDeleteA horrible event!
Fire is always so scary and especially if set on purpose!
ReplyDeleteBirdman has a real hate on for the Habs - it is going to be a rough game tonight. Don Cherry will love it.
Fires are always awful - so good that no-one was hurt but would the arsonist have known that.
ReplyDeleteSet by someone who hates coffee?
ReplyDeleteMy home was burned , nothing left but one wall with 300 because some stupid crazy freak decided it was a fun thing to do. The smell of smoke lasts a long time.
ReplyDeletecheers, parsnip
it is weird how your mind immediately goes to the negative - i think - are they looking for some insurance money? positive would be - so glad no one was hurt. that is so great!! have a nice weekend!! ( :
ReplyDelete@VP: it's a vibrant, bright neighbourhood, and a lot of pedestrian traffic. Something like this does stand out.
ReplyDelete@Gill: I certainly do hope so.
@Sharon: that it is.
@Tamago: it'll take time for rebuilding to happen, but I expect they'd prefer to get it done before winter.
@Cheryl: if it's the lunatic version of an arsonist, he'd probably like it.
@Grace: in the case of a lunatic, their mind is not set right in the first place. If it's a professional, they're trying to do it when no one's around.
@Marleen: it is certainly something that I find unsettling.
@RedPat: for all the talk Leafs fans have about a rivalry with Montreal, the Habs-Bruins animosity runs a lot deeper!
@Gerald: at this point, who's to know?
@Revrunner: that could be a long list.
@Parsnip: it certainly does last awhile.
@Beth: thank you.
Madness...
ReplyDeleteWhat a dreadful thing for a community. I hope people are pulling together.
ReplyDeletethats awful! Hope they catch them!!
ReplyDeleteSo sad.
ReplyDeleteFires are bad enough but arson is even worse. We lost a couple of businesses to fire (faulty wiring) about a year ago and though the site has been scraped clean there's no rebuilding yet. The destruction is devastating.
ReplyDeleteDevastating when beyond the buildings, lives are destroyed and people face heartbreak. That is the ultimate cruelty.
ReplyDeleteHow sad for these people to see their dreams literally go up in smoke.
ReplyDeleteIt is a shame. All of those livelihoods put at risk.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what the story is behind the arson. Someone seeking an insurance payout? Or just an awful attention seeking firebug? Hopefully, those business owners who want to rebuild will be able to do so quickly.
ReplyDelete@Geoff: that it is.
ReplyDelete@Linda: at least this wasn't homes.
@Jen: I have no idea if they ever did. A rebuild was done, pretty similar to what it was.
@Randy: fire often is.
@Kay: that is true.
@Gemma: in some cases, jobs are lost as a consequence.
@Denise: it is, yes.
@Jack: quite true.
@SRQ: you do wonder.