Firefighters remained on Hurontario Street in downtown Collingwood this morning after a fire broke out at the Olde Red Hen restaurant, displacing six tenants in the upstairs apartment and causing severe damage to the building.
Fire Chief Ross Parr said the fire broke out at 3:30 a.m. (June 25) in the back of the restaurant.
There are five apartments above the Olde Red Hen housing six people. All of them got out of the building safely, but have been displaced by the fire. The building will not be inhabitable without work to restore and repair the damage caused by the fire.
Parr said the dollar loss damage is more than $1 million. He has called the province's Office of the Fire Marshal (OFM) for a consultation on the fire.
The cause is yet to be determined.
Hurontario Street between Third and Second streets is closed to vehicular traffic.
The Olde Red Hen is located at 146 Hurontario St.
Wasaga Beach resident David Kergan has set up a Go Fund Me page for his brother-in-law and parents-in-law, all three lived in the apartments above the Olde Red Hen.
According to the GoFundMe page, Kergan's in-laws lost their cats in the fire. The couple has been aided by Red Cross with hotel rooms for a few days, but they do not have tenant insurance.
The Olde Red Hen has been in Collingwood for more than 75 years. Diane Smith and Jim Meridis have been the co-owners for more than 20 years.
