Investigators to watch as burned heritage building torn down in Regina

Fire investigators in Regina this week have been having the same problems firefighters were in the days before with the heritage building on 12th Avenue called the Gordon Block.

As they tried to investigate what caused the blaze, the building was so badly damaged it was too precarious to enter.

That’s actually why it took so long for the fire to be put out; it was blazing, smoking and flaring up for just about 48 hours.

“Initially our crews did enter and they were driven back by unstable conditions — potential collapse conditions — and when you’re trying to fight defensively, you can’t get to the hot spots in the middle of a very large structure. As portions collapse, they collapse on burning entities and they continue to burn,” Regina fire marshal Randy Ryba said Tuesday afternoon.

So, for those as well as public safety reasons, the building is set to be torn down.

Ryba said Regina Fire and Protective Services officials had looked in and saw what they could from the outside and from the air, but there are still spaces on the third floor that they haven’t been able to clear yet.

“We have to continue on so we haven’t left any stones unturned as far as the investigation portion goes,” he explained.

Regina fire marshal Randy Ryba says the heritage building on 12th Avenue was too damaged for investigators to go inside, so they’ll be keeping on eye on what is revealed as the building is town down. (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

What they’re calling the deconstruction of the building will be a slower business, taking three or four days.

There’s the investigation to be considered, but there’s also asbestos in the building that has to be carefully dealt with, and the plan is to save as many of the character elements that make it a heritage building as possible.

“We’re going to see what happens throughout the next couple of days here but everybody’s agreed to try to preserve as much as possible,” said Autumn Dawson, the director of planning and development services with the City of Regina.

However, she said safety and the fire investigation come first.

She said there hasn’t been a chance to talk about what will happen with that space after the building is torn down, but she said there are rules about it given that it’s within the Victoria Park Heritage District.

“Collaboratively we need to talk about what that might look like and make sure that it’s in line with the plan,” said Dawson, adding that it can’t be a parking lot.

Timber planks will be placed over the paving stones in the Pat Fiacco Plaza to protect them from the debris and the heavy machinery that will be used in the demolition.

Ryba said seeing a heritage building destroyed is a sad thing.

“I grew up in this city, I was born in this city and I know how the city evolved. To see something has burned that, when I was a child, (was here), it kind of makes you sad,” he said.

The investigation

Ryba couldn’t say much about what they found in the actual fire investigation so far.

He said it was a vacant building and all the utilities had been shut off, so that eliminated some possibilities. He also said there wasn’t any lightning at the time.

At the same time the fire was being dealt with, a man was spotted tampering with gas meters and lines in the area, but Ryba said as far as he knew, that wasn’t a factor in the fire.

Ryba also couldn’t say whether there was any forced entry. He said the property owner had locked up the building the last time it was checked, and there was no saying whether there was any forced entry because the front doors were burned off by the time firefighters arrived Sunday morning.

The building

According to Regina’s heritage list, the Gordon Block has been standing at that spot in the city for 111 years. It was called the Aldon Block until 1930.

The list describes the notable features of the building: A series of brick pillars, rusticated stone work on the main floor, and an elaborately carving over the door.