Fire-damaged building in downtown Regina to be torn down

The heritage building in downtown Regina that was damaged by fire Sunday is to be demolished.

In a media release Tuesday afternoon, the city said the owner of the 111-year-old heritage building located at 2170 12th Ave. had hired a demolition company to tear down the edifice.

“Building deconstruction is necessary to fully extinguish the fire, complete a search and investigation of the building, and ensure public safety,” the release said. “(On Monday), crews were onsite removing lighting on the plaza and the art installation on the building to prepare for work.”

The city said “character-defining heritage property elements” on the building — known as the Gordon Block — will be preserved and mats will be placed on the Pat Fiacco Plaza to prevent damage to the stone.

On Tuesday, the smoke and burning smell in the air had mostly dissipated and most of the Pat Fiacco Plaza was still blocked off while crews cleaned up the area.

Debris and broken glass was spread out in front of the building, and with nearly all the windows broken, it was easy to see inside to the charred damage and bits piled up or hanging from the ceiling.

While the building was obviously damaged, the murals on the front were still bright and colourful as ever among the glass and charred edges.

A firefighter checks inside a heritage building on 12th Avenue after a two-day-long fire. (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

The fire started on Sunday and, as of midday on Tuesday, it was still unclear what had caused it. Crews battled the fire through Monday, and one firefighter said it flared up pretty badly overnight into Tuesday but they believed it was finally out by late Tuesday morning.

The firefighter said it became too dangerous to go inside the building at one point because of damaged floors and walls so they had to fight the flareups from outside.

The large metal art installation had to be taken down from in front of the building and the pieces were laid down on the other side of the plaza. They were carted away on a flatbed.

An art installation that had been standing in front of the building on Pat Fiacco Plaza had to be taken down as crews fought a two-day-long fire. (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

One lawyer who works in the office right next door was allowed in on Tuesday morning to retrieve some things and he said there wasn’t any damage in that building except for a bit of smoke and water.

He said though the building next door was a heritage building, it had started to become a bit of a nuisance.

The release reminded people to keep a safe distance as the demolition work begins. The city is working with representatives of the Regina Farmers’ Market, organizers of Saturday’s events for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, and organizers of Sunday’s Zombie Walk to change their plans if required.

Regina’s fire marshal, Randy Ryba, is to be part of a media conference Tuesday afternoon to discuss the situation. He likely will address the cause of the fire and whether there’s any connection to a string of vandalism that occurred Saturday night and Sunday morning in the downtown.

Regina police said Monday a man had been charged with damaging 26 gas meters in the area, and their media release suggested the investigations into the fire and the vandalism could be connected.