Fire razes derelict inn

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This article was published 15/05/2022 (1214 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A dilapidated motel and gas bar along the Trans-Canada Highway that was once a popular roadside stop for weary travellers was reduced to rubble following a weekend fire that police are calling suspicious.

Reynolds Fire Department and Falcon Beach RCMP were called Sunday at 10:35 a.m. to the McMunn Motor Inn, located between Prawda and East Braintree.

Reynolds Fire Chief Tom Nixon said his crew arrived to find the abandoned motel fully engulfed in flames.

The possibility of a roof collapse made it too dangerous to send firefighters inside, so Nixon said crews battled the blaze from the parking lot.

“We did have a slight wind and it kept changing directions, so it made it a little difficult to maintain our ground.”

Nixon said the fire started near the west end of the long, low building then travelled through the attic. No mutual aid was needed and no injuries were reported.

A large fuel holding tank, located some distance away from the flames, was periodically doused with water to keep it cool and prevent an explosion. Nixon said he was told the tank may be partially full of gasoline.

“I didn’t want that to be breaching because it’s worse to have partial fuel than full fuel in the tank.”

Once the flames were out, an excavator was brought in to demolish what remained of the building. Around 7 p.m., Nixon was called back to the site because the rubble had reignited. Site cleanup and monitoring continued overnight and into Monday.

RCMP have opened an investigation into the fire, a spokesperson confirmed Monday.

“At this time, the fire does appear to be suspicious,” the spokesperson said.

The Office of the Fire Commissioner did not attend the scene, a spokesperson said Tuesday.

Nixon said he doesn’t know who owns the property or if the motel was insured. The property has changed hands several times and has sat vacant for about for years.

The Manitoba Companies Office registry contains three entries associated with the McMunn Motor Inn, none of which are active. Two are connected to dissolved companies and the third is listed as inactive.

Nixon said the motel had become a magnet for mischief.

“It was basically an eyesore,” he said.

Anyone with information on the fire is asked to call Falcon Beach RCMP at 204-349-8035.