Devastating Blaze Unites Community

February 24, 2020

This article was done in partnership with the Lac du Bonnet & District Historical Society. It appeared in the February 20, 2020 edition of the Lac du Bonnet Clipper.

February 21, 1965 — mid-afternoon, the furnace in the basement of the Lac du Bonnet bakery, on the corner of Park Ave. and First St., exploded, setting fire to the building. Three people died. Two injured. Numerous people rendered homeless. An entire block of landmark buildings destroyed.

Heavy snow, sub-zero temperatures and 40 mph winds hindered firefighting efforts by local fire chief, Dickie Campbell, and his twenty firemen who arrived quickly on scene with their pumper and tanker trucks.

Nearby stores and houses were evacuated. Heat, smoke and flames, fanned by the wind, blocked all attempts at rescue. In a matter of minutes, the flames had jumped to McLeod’s store, which had five housing suites on the second floor, and continued to burn through to the Paquette’s Lucky Dollar store.

A 350-gallon fuel oil tank behind Paquette’s store was pulled away from the flames. While McLeod’s burned, manager, Charles Reis, broke inside his store, with police officers, to remove twelve cartons of ammunition on shelves directed at the street.

The Beaver Lumber store across the street opened its doors so firemen could escape the elements. The Lakeview hotel sent over a large quantity of sandwiches while Legion ladies and members of the Lions Club served coffee.

Mayor Alexander Campbell, feeling unwell, got out of bed to help fight the fire. An estimated 200 men, comprised of community members and volunteer firemen, were engaged in firefighting efforts to battle the inferno. Crews were brought in from Pine Falls, A.E.C.L in Pinawa, the air force brigade at Milner Ridge, along with Pointe du Bois fire chief, R.A. Blondahl. Two fire trucks pumped water from a hole in the ice of the Winnipeg River, 1,000 feet away, while others relayed water from the pumping station four blocks away.

The fire burned out of control for over four hours, destroying the bakery, McLeod’s and Paquette’s stores. The brick post office was saved by the tireless efforts of the men. Firemen remained on scene through the night.

The next day, reporters from the Winnipeg Free Press and Winnipeg Tribune surveyed the ice-caked ruins of an entire block, where only brick chimneys stood intact among the charred wreckage. Their stories captured the resilience of a community in the midst of a tragedy and reported the blaze as the worst in the history of the village. Fifty-five years later, this fire remains the worst disaster Lac du Bonnet has witnessed.

References:

Rach, Alan. “Fire Kills Three at Lac du Bonnet.” Winnipeg Free Press (Winnipeg, MB), Feb. 22, 1965.

Senter, James. “Three die instantly as blast shatters Lac du Bonnet store.” Winnipeg Tribune (Winnipeg, MB), Feb. 22, 1965.

“Three Perish in Weekend Blaze.” Springfield Leader (Lac du Bonnet, MB), Feb. 23, 1965.