Old Marina Restaurant fire causes nearly $2 million in damage, investigation delays

Three days after the Old Marina Restaurant was destroyed by fire, investigators are still unable to get inside the ruins of the building on the shores of Puslinch Lake to figure out how it happened.

On Tuesday, investigators told CTV News the building is a total loss and the damage is close to two million dollars.

“That’s for [the] building only, we don’t estimate the business damage and things like that,” said Tom Mulvey, Puslinch fire chief.

Firefighters were first called to the blaze around 12:45 p.m. on Saturday, July 31.

Flames could be seen shooting from windows and filling the sky with smoke. The fire reduced the building to rubble. It’s considered a total loss.

Officials say it's still too dangerous to go inside the ruins of the burnout restaurant and, due to the severe damage, the investigation into the cause of the fire has yet to start.

No one was injured in the fire. Commenters online credit restaurant staff for safely getting everyone out.

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Heavy equipment will be needed to take apart the building to allow the investigation to continue.

“The building had a metal roof on it and everything that was outside the building has collapsed into the basement; so, there’s a large amount of debris in the basement of the building and that’s where we think the origin of the fire is,” said Mulvey. “As they start to take that metal roof out and some other debris out it will expose maybe the area of origin.”

The Office of the Fire Marshal (OFM) has been contacted, but they say it was decided to leave the investigation in the hands of officials in Puslinch.

The Old Marina Restaurant on Puslinch Lake on fire. (Twitter: @brent_bullough) (July 30, 2022)

Nearby resident Larry Hackbart visited the site to see the damage. He says dining at the Old Marina Restaurant many years ago was what sold him and his wife on moving to the area.

 

"[On Saturday] I came up here and my heart sunk," said Hackbart. "Our hearts are broken. It's terrible. This building, these people, are part of our family."

 

Hackbart says his wife's celebration of life was held at the restaurant only a month ago.

 

"One of the staff I've known for a while, when we saw each other, we just hugged and both had a cry," said Hackbart. "It hurt. It still hurts."

Mulvey is warning people not to get too close to the charred remains.

 

“People have been coming to take a look. They’re coming and they’re crossing the fire lines and we can’t tolerate that. It’s an unsafe building and we don’t want anyone to get hurt. We’ve had no injuries yet and we don’t [want to] start now,” Mulvey said.

The Old Marina Restaurant’s history begins in the 1920s when the City of Guelph built a dance hall at the site. (Courtesy/Old Marina Restaurant)

 

There have been some indications through an online fundraiser there are plans to rebuild the restaurant. Those have not been confirmed.

 

The Old Marina Restaurant and Gift House was built in 1993. It was destroyed in a fire in 2005 before reopening again in 2007.

 

The property on the shores of Puslinch Lake has nearly a century of history. Previously it was home to a dance hall and a hotel in what is now the McClintock Water Skiing School.