Second Fire Breaks Out At London Hotel
Prince George Fire Rescue remains on-scene after suspicious early morning fire
Prince George, BC – Prince George Fire Rescue was called out early this morning to a report of a fire at the London Hotel in downtown Prince George – the second in five days…
Fire Chief John Lane says RCMP will join in the investigation after a suspicious blaze broke out in the smoke-damaged building on 3rd Avenue at approximately 2:15am. There were no tenants in the building as a result of Monday afternoon’s fire.
Initially, Chief Lane says 15 firefighters from three halls attended, with the first arriving crew attacking a fire found on the ground floor at the rear of the building and mounting an interior attack.
Lane says the main body of the fire was knocked down quickly, but the balloon-style construction of the building allowed flames to extend into the roof of the three-storey structure. Crews from the 4th fire hall then arrived to assist with extensive roof trenching to locate and extinguish all hot spots.
Chief Lane says no firefighters were injured and the blaze is now completely extinguished. Both police and fire investigators will be on-scene later this morning.
Comments
Whether by fire or whether torn down for other reasons, there is a long list of empty properties in downtown PG that simply have been left vacant.
The grocery store on 3rd, which was replaced with birch trees in the 1970s was the first that I can remember. Little did I know at the time that all the talk of the CIBC and the BMO in those days would end up with no action some 40 years later.
Sad history, as we see another building turning into another hole in the fabric of downtown Prince George.
All we need are some smart business owners to move downtown. Give people places they want to go, and people will go downtown. The worries of the ‘locals’ downtown is vastly overplayed. Further, look at the difference The Copper Pig has brought to George St – great restaurant, bringing great people to George St. The sketchy characters have dispersed elsewhere for the most part.
I had a bad experience at the copper pig. Maybe I should try it again. It is not the type of place I would call a great restaurant. Dark and dingy, such as Nancy O’s just does not make a great restaurant for my liking, especially for a daytime restaurant.
I prefer the white goose type of ambience and the food that goes with it and an outdoor place to sit in the summer. The place kitty-corner from that has a beautiful heritage feel to it and wonderful windows to look out at the streetscape from. Too bad it could not make a go of it. The owner’s heart was certainly in the right place.
Wasabi Sushi is my favourite type of downtown eatery. Finally someone who has been able to make a go of it at that location. No matter where one sits, one has a view to the street. Open kitchen, great. Service, fast and excellent. Price, very affordable.
Too bad the Tony Roma location has not been the best for restaurants. It too has a nice look out onto the streets.
“The worries of the ‘locals’ downtown is vastly overplayed.”
I agree 100%. I think this city is still liked by those who cocoon in their suburban homes, put some shrimps on the bar-b and watch their 50+ inch LCD TVs.
They are not interested in facing others who may be less fortunate than they are. We seem to have the same type of students and profs here as well.
Again, recent experience in Bellingham has shown me what a downtown in a small city should be like. It is hopping. But it has over 14,000 students in a population of 80,000. One can easily tell the influence.
AND ….. there are no university buildings downtown nor dedicated student residences. And, like most other places in the USA, they are just coming out of a major recession.
It’s unfortunate that the old London Hotel caught fire again. It will probably be land fill soon. I remember when that Hotel was old when I was young, it’s got to be nearly a hundred years old now. One by one the downtown is losing it’s character and devolving into something no one knows. Not the planners not the leaders, it’s a free fall…a victim of lack of imagination and crazy ideas….which soon, if the current Mayor gets her way charge it’s citizens to observe the downtown’s decay..
Maybe the next fire will take that crack shack out for good. I think the fire fighters should just protect the surrounding business and otherwise let the fire save the city money on a wrecking crew.
When people say “historic” or “character” to describe buildings downtown it seems that means “run down” and “seedy”. The kind of places we are better off without.
I’m totally in agreement, PGCoffeeAddict.
Damn! I was hoping for a cupcake from the bakery downstaors…seems it may be a while before they open back up.
Two fires in a week. Financial combustion?
PGCoffeeAddict and JB – you don’t need to have an old building for a crack shack, there might be one in your neighborhood and you just don’t know. ;)
PGCoffeeAddict says the following – “When people say “historic” or “character” to describe buildings downtown it seems that means “run down” and “seedy”. The kind of places we are better off without.”
Buildings don’t need to be old to be run down or seedy. :)
Yeah,like its too bad the city didn’t choose rather to dismantle the old PG Hotel. There was probably a million dollars’ worth of salvageable wood in that place. Sometimes they don’t think at all.
Just look at what they took out of the old Duchess park school. Someone made a lot of money from all that old timber and it wasn’t the city.
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