Dining Hall Fire and How it Happened
January 23, 2011
*Notes: Dining Room fire overnight August 14/15, 1965.
The dining room fire was caused by lightning. To this day, I worry, especially in August, when the night air and wind feel the same as it did that night. It was that hot, humid air which comes with a bit of a heat spell at that time of the year. There is a spooky wind that blows on that kind of night and the atmosphere just does not feel right. I was asleep in the Craft Shop, where I lived that summer. It was Stephen Burt who saw it at 12:45am and called out to the others. He was up doing some work on his Swimming Charts when he saw a bright flashing light. He let out a yell that the dining room was on fire. The lightning bolt which caused the fire hit an entry panel in the front pinion at the top of the dining room and the fire spread from there. Mr. MacAdam (Chief) had explained this to me when I asked him about it. They had a full report from both the fire marshall and the insurance investigators who went through the ruins with a fine-tooth comb. Chief had spent the next day going through the ruins himself looking for the pieces of the dining room plaque. He found all but one little piece near the top right hand corner of it and believe me; he really tried to find it. Interesting story about what he did with the plaque, aside from having it re-built into the new fireplace. The good folks at the Westmount Rotary Club, who really supported the camp, were called to an emergency meeting they knew about the fire and they were told to bring cheque books with them. Chief went in, laid the pieces of the plaque out on the table and said: «Gentlemen, I need $40 000.00, the insurance does not cover the full cost of re-building. Is it worth it? What do you think? He left, about an hour later, with the money.
Thank you again, Rotary Club of Westmount.
R. Huint
