When firefighters arrived, it was blazing everywhere, said in an interview, Gino Ouellet, president and CEO of Ma Cabane en Gaspésie and owner of the place formerly known as Auberge de la Pente abrupte.
Gino Ouellet explained that he alerted firefighters around 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday after seeing a fire in the window of the laundry room, located above.
The fire quickly spread to the attic and destroyed the building in less than an hour, according to its owner.
Firefighters arrived 25-30 minutes later, but did not enter the hostel. They extinguished the fire with a mechanical shovel.
The syrup harvest, stored in an adjacent building, was saved
The fire occurred about an hour after employees left. Fortunately, the inn was empty, commented Mr. Ouellet.
Because the sugaring off season was coming to an end, the team cleaned up all daysaid Gino Ouellet. At all times sugaring off, in the winter, we have lodgers, we are happy with no injuries, no deaths. It’s just hardwarehe said.
The business got ten people. We had a great team. This is a beautiful project in a small village in Gaspésieunderline the CEO of Ma Cabane en Gaspésie.
Gino Ouellet bought the inn on February 7, 2019, which he then renovated. This is his first real season. We opened six months during the pandemic, owner commented. The latter added that this year, with the resumption of activities, the snowmobile season and then the sugaring-off season have been very good.
The causes of the fire are still being determined. The owner estimates the cost of the reconstruction at over $ 1 million.
In collaboration with Pierre-Gabriel Turgeon
Source: Radio-Canada
