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Dunnville Fire Fighters
Haldimand County Fire Department, Station 9
Devastating Fires and Tragic Events
Over The Last Century
The Victoria Hotel Fire
January 26, 1969
We will start our list off with the "deadliest" fire in our community's history. This very dark day in the town of Dunnville occurred shortly after midnight on Sunday January 26, 1969, when the Historic Victoria Hotel caught fire, and changed the lives of so many in our community. 13 souls were lost that cold frigid night, and 1 fire fighter received life altering injuries as well.
A young gentleman on his way home from seeing friends stopped by the police station just before 3am to report a glow coming from a second story window. Moments later, a shattering explosion ripped through the hotel and flames started to roar skyward on the cold January night. By the time fire fighters arrived, the building was an inferno.
At the time, the fire sent shockwaves across the Eastern Seaboard. Newspapers from Winnipeg, Toronto, Virginia, and South Carolina reported on the fire. Today it still stands as one of the most tragic fires in Canadian history.
For days, fire fighters, police, and volunteers dug into the charred rubble of the Victoria Hotel, seeking the bodies of victims of "the fastest fire Dunnville has ever seen." Three other buildings in close proximity of the historic landmark were heavily damaged by the roaring flames which destroyed the 63-year-old hotel just before dawn on Sunday. The fire towered 60 feet in the air, lighting up the town "like a sunrise."
As news of this devastating fire spread around the globe, little did we know the impact it would leave for future generations. The Ontario Fire Code was developed and implemented as a direct result of this fire, which set the standard for fire safety today in our homes, places of work, and high occupancy buildings.
Although this was little consolation for those who lost loved ones, it was reassuring to know that new laws and codes were in the works to help prevent future disasters like this from happening again.
"Gone, But Never Forgotten"
The Rosa Flora Fire
March 6, 2014
Second on our list was the most "expensive" fire in terms of property loss in the history of our town. It was not so long ago when this industrial fire occurred, and responding personnel had no idea at the time when they saw the faint glow coming up the Diltz Road, just how bad this call was going to be.
Seven Haldimand County Fire stations, with additional trucks and manpower from Wainfleet, battled this blaze which broke out around 1:00am and continued for more than 16 hours into the following day.
By the time the blaze was finally under control, early projections of loss was starting to emerge. It was estimated that the structural damages alone were in excess of 10 million dollars.
This didn't even begin to account for the trucks and other equipment that were destroyed. Not to mention the loss of products. Totals would eventually be in the "tens of millions" when it was all said and done.
The fire also took its toll on various aspects of the fire department as well. Many trucks were heavily damaged, including both aerial platforms which needed to take turns being out of service for weeks following the fire. Every vehicle on site needed to be cleaned and decontaminated as most were heavily soiled from the blaze.
Three firefighters were taken to hospital during the inferno. One had collapsed when the winds unexpectedly shifted and the smoke "dropped" on some of the pump operators. Two others were also treated for smoke inhalation.
Eventually it took 19 fire apparatuses and more than 70 firefighters to bring this fire under control. Rosa Flora has since rebuilt, and continues to be a successful company which continues to grow, providing hundreds of jobs to our local economy.
"When Life Beats You Down, You Come Back Stronger"
The Great Flood
February 13, 2009
The third event our list was possibly the most destructive event in Dunnville's history, in terms of size, and the amount of residents it affected. Each year, the province usually gets a warm up in the middle of winter, one which sees "Spring" like temperatures for a short period of time. Although this is a welcome event for most people in our province, it can cause concern for areas along the Lower Grand River Basin.
This year was of extra concern. The ice pack was thinker than usual, the warm snap was longer than usual, a disaster waiting to happen. Then on February 13th, the unthinkable, a series of ice jams that eventually led to the largest flood in generations.
The CCGS Griffin was heading our way to the mouth of the Grand River to start ice breaking procedures, but everything happened too quickly. By the time of her arrival, the town of Dunnville was flooded.
The water level was at record highs, the lower river was higher than the upper river. Most homes south of the old CN tracks were surrounded by water, streets unpassable, basements completely flooded.
All of the counties emergency services worked tirelessly through the weekend, evacuating homes, rescuing residents, doing whatever they could to ensure the safety of everyone during this crisis.
When all was said and done, 1.8 million dollars in damages, and a very large cleanup. More than 60 residents and businesses were affected. Many were unable to get insurance because they were located in the flood plain.
A community disaster relief committee was established, which did pave the way for provincial and federal assistance. It was a long journey for many residents, but in the end, the spirit of our town remained strong, and as a community, we recovered.
As with everything in life, lessons were learned. A more proactive approach is always taken now this time of year, and the river is monitored more closely than ever, not only from from the GRCA, but from Haldimand County as well.
With any luck, the images and scenes witnessed over this weekend in our history, will never happen again.
"When a Community Comes Together, They Can Overcome Anything!"
The Kneider Building Fire
October 22, 1978
The fourth entry on our list of the most devastating fires and events in our history, was on October 22, 1978 when our downtown was once again stricken by another devastating fire.
Kneider's Monarch-Knit Shop, located at Broad and Chestnut Streets, was a renowned importer of Fine English China. This building was a center piece of the downtown core, which also housed many other small businesses, and it now was on fire.
Just a stone throw away from the location of the Victoria Hotel fire one decade earlier, this blaze brought back many unpleasant memories of another dreadful day. This fast moving fire frustrated fire fighters, as they could never quite get a head of it.
Large black smoke could be seen as far away as Buffalo to the south, and Hamilton to the north. Chestnut street was lined with pumpers, from every Dunnville area fire station, and hundreds of feet of hose was laid out as this fire was attacked with everything they had.
To get an edge on fighting fires where multiple story buildings were creating so many challenges, the town needed to finally look to the future with their fire fighting equipment, starting with their apparatus.
Just two short years after the Kneider Building loss, Dunnville introduced their first aerial fire truck. A 75 foot King Telesquirt was now in service, a truck which gave fire fighters the edge they so badly needed for fires such as this for many years to come.
So many historical landmarks had been disappearing, and Dunnville now had a truck that could supply a large amount of water to every angle of a fire. The help that we all desperately needed, was finally here!
"The Evolution Of Fire Fighting Continues Because Of Lessons Learned And Experience!"
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