A fire that destroyed three businesses and several apartment units in Bouctouche, N.B., is being described as significant for the small town.
The blaze raged for about 10 hours from Monday night into Tuesday and took 45 firefighters to battle.
All that’s left of the Dixie Lee restaurant, a smoothie shop, a flower shop and five apartment units is rubble.
“We had to call an excavator because a building like this, there’s a lot of add-on buildings, metal roofs, so we couldn’t get to the fire with all the metal roofs so we had to remove that,” Bouctouche fire Chief Maurice Belliveau said.
The building’s owner, Daniel Gallant, says he was made aware of the fire when his son called him in a panic.
“I was shocked … really shocked and sad at the same time,” he said.
“You work hard for a number of years and everything goes away in about an hour or so.”
He says his eight residential tenants are in a state of shock after losing their homes.
“With a fire, when you get a knock on the door or you get woken up by the alarm, it’s not a good feeling,” he said.
“But in this case here, everybody was out and everything turned out alright and to me, that’s the main thing.”
Meanwhile, Bouctouche’s mayor, Aldeo Saulnier, says the loss is “significant” for the small town. Everyone is rallying to help those affected, Saulnier adds.
“It means a lot, it means a lot for sure,” he said.
“We’re hoping that these people are going to be able to reorganize themselves with their friends or family. If not, we’re going to be in contact with them.”
Gallant is waiting to hear back from his insurance company before he decides whether or not to rebuild. The cause of the blaze is still under investigation by the fire marshal.
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