Saturday, November 2, 2013

Davis Lodge, Tignish - destroyed by Halloween Fire

     Halloween is tough time of year on abandoned buildings n Prince Edward Island.  There's been a few old houses burned this year.  One was the old Davis Lodge near Tignish.  This old house was converted into a Seniors Community Care Facility about 25 years ago by Jean Davis of Alberton.  Not long after it opened she died suddenly.  The Lodge continued operation under another owner and eventually closed.  It's been abandoned now for 15 years and in much disrepair.
     The following are two articles from the local Guardian and Journal-Pioneer newspapers.
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A firefighter sprays water at dawn this morning on Davis Lodge, the former seniors home that burned near Tignish overnight.
© Eric McCarthy/Journal Pioneeer
Abandoned seniors' home in Tignish burned Friday morning
The Guardian Newspaper.  Published on November 01, 2013
TIGNISH — Firefighters were called to Davis Lodge, an abondoned former seniors' facility near Tignish early this morning after the building caught fire.
            An excavator is now on scene to bring the remaining portion of the building down as a safety precaution.
            Tignish Fire Chief Harley Perry says the vacant Davis Lodge in St Felix was so badly damaged that the whole building must be brought down.
            Tignish fire department was called to the scene around 5 a.m., and called in four neighbouring Halloween-weary departments for assistance.
            Although the building had sat idle for about 15 years, Perry said the structure appeared sound prior to the suspicious fire.
            RCMP and assistant fire marshal Robert Arsenault are on the scene investigating.
            For Arsenault, it is his third fire investigation of the night in western Prince County. Around midnight, the O'Leary fire department fought a fire at an abandoned house in Milo.
            Miminegash fire department was called out to a fire in St. Edward around 2:30 a.m. Tignish firefighters were not home long from assisting with that call when they were summoned to Davis Lodge.
            The newer, single-storey section of the lodge was reduced to charred posts but the two-storey section was still standing. Perry said it was so badly damaged that it was unsafe to enter and would need to be knocked down.
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The former Davis Lodge, near Tignish, was knocked down Friday morning, just hours after five West Prince fire departments fought a fire that left it too unstable to salvage.
The fire has been turned over to the RCMP as an arson investigation.
Arson blamed for fire that destroys former seniors facility
Eric McCarthy / Published on November 01, 2013
ST. FELIX -- Fire left a former seniors home near Tignish so unstable Friday that the Tignish Fire Department ordered it demolished. It was knocked down Friday morning.
            Tignish fire chief Harley Perry said flames were pouring from the vacant building when fire fighters arrived on scene shortly after 5:30 a.m. He said it might have been burning a while before anyone noticed.
            The newer, one-story section was completely consumed by the fire. Fire fighters were able to douse the flames in the two-story section but Perry said the fire had left it unstable and unsafe to enter. A himack was called in to knock the building down.
Police and fire officials believe the fire was deliberately set, one of three Halloween night fires in West Prince.
            Approximately 45 fire fighters fought the Davis Lodge fire, coming from O’Leary, West Point, Miminegash and Alberton to assist.
            The building has sat idle for about 15 years but was still in reasonably good shape, according to the fire chief. Real estate signs were posted on the property. “Just by looking at it, everything was sealed up,” said Perry. “The structure looked sound.”
            The Davis Lodge fire was the third response of the night for the Tignish department. They had been to a dumpster fire in the community and had been to St. Edward around 2:30 a.m. to assist Miminegash with a structure fire.
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            A related story about Davis Lodge appeared on CBC PEI website May 24, 2001 
            The owner of the Davis Lodge senior citizens home in Tignish is accusing the government of trying to put him out of business. His lodge is half empty, yet the government is putting up $1-million to build a new one. "It's pure competition for the Davis Lodge and ultimately, and the end of the day, with a brand new shiny facility Davis Lodge will die," said Ray Brow. Brow said Tignish does not need another senior citizens' home. "This is scandalous and a waste of taxpayers' dollars, especially in light of the impending closure of Sunset Lodge," he said.
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1 comment:

  1. Oww..that's so sad - looking at that nice-looking lodge house set on fire.

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