Now all that's left of the Skye Motel, built in 1964, is a blackened shell of a building and a sign reminding passersby what was once there. The motel, on the west side of Hwy. 7/12, was consumed by flames early Saturday, March 22, at about 2:30 a.m. and firefighters from three municipalities, including Uxbridge, worked to put it out. Flames could be seen from as far as 10 kilometres away.
Fire officials said four of the motel's units, in addition to the owner's residence, were occupied at the time of the fire, but no injuries have been reported. Neighbours of the motel said the owners, a family of five including three children, are currently staying with relatives in the aftermath of the blaze. The family could not be reached for comment. Mark Donneral, manager of Petro Gold gas bar next door to the motel, said the current owners took over the motel only a year ago. "He's been working (on the motel)," noted Mr. Donneral of the motel owner. "(He was) planning on re-roofing... (he was) getting things coming around."
Mr. Donneral said when he first heard about the fire he feared it was the gas bar. "The highway was closed down... they sanded the road, there were water trucks (going) up and down (the highway)," he explained.
Next to Petro Gold is the Roadside Country Diner. Co-owner Marlene Rhodes said the fire was "a little scary... it's a good thing they got it under control," although she mentioned the fire knocked out the restaurant's phone line for about a day. Ms. Rhodes said she hasn't noticed fewer customers due to the blaze, noting, "On Saturday there was a lot more business from people coming in (the area) to check out the fire."
Ms. Rhodes said by the time she arrived to the restaurant at 7 a.m. that morning, the fire was well under control.
A house sits right between the restaurant and the motel, but no one answered the door on Monday. There did not appear to be any damage to the house. A little further north of the motel is Precious Minds, a charitable organization providing support to families in north Durham Region with children who have learning barriers. Staff of Precious Minds, who were busy installing an elevator within the facility, said their building hasn't been affected.
Uxbridge Deputy Fire Chief Tony Peck said Uxbridge sent eight firefighters along with a pumper and a tanker to assist in battling the blaze. He said the Uxbridge crew was at the scene from 2:30 a.m. to "well into daylight". An Uxbridge pumper vehicle was put on standby at a Scugog station and returned to Uxbridge at about 9 a.m., noted the deputy chief.
According to Scugog fire officials, a representative with the Ontario Fire Marshal's office was on hand to survey the scene on Saturday.
"The investigation is ongoing," said Rob Gonnermann, the Scugog Fire Department's deputy chief. He did not provide any further details on a potential cause for the blaze.
He added that the Scugog department got the first call around 2:10 a.m. Upon arriving at the scene, firefighters were greeted with a spectacular blaze that officials believe began in the centre of the building where the owners lived.
"The centre was fully engulfed, (flames) were through the roof and there were some fairly strong winds (from the northwest)... that made it a little difficult," recalled the deputy chief.
It took firefighters approximately four hours "to get it to the point where we had it under control," added Deputy Chief Gonnermann.
The majority of the firefighters were released from the scene around 11 a.m. later that morning, with a "skeleton crew" remaining on site to assist the fire marshal official and to check for hotspots, said the deputy chief.
Also joining firefighters from the Port Perry and Uxbridge firehalls at the site were crews from Scugog's Caesarea station as well as firefighters from Brock's Sunderland detachment. Crews from Clarington were also put on standby at the Caesarea station.
According to Deputy Chief Gonnermann, damage is estimated somewhere between $600,000 and $750,000.
- with files from Chris Hall
