LITTLE CURRENT—A lot of fond memories went up in flames in the early morning hours of Saturday as fire consumed a building on Highway 540 just outside Little Current that was best known as the Old Howland Hall, for years a bastion of the Women’s Institute, and was once a surprisingly popular venue for local dances despite its diminutive size.
“We received the call around 3 am on Saturday,” confirmed Northeast Town Fire Chief Duane Deschamps. “By the time we arrived it was fully engulfed.”
Firefighters battled the blaze for the next four hours before it was deemed safe to quit the scene. Hydro One was called as there was still power to the building. The building was totally destroyed, a lone wood stove remaining amongst small pieces of charred wood and metal.
“There is no determination of cause,” said the fire chief. No foul play is suspected, however. “There was nothing deemed suspicious at the site,” said Mr. Deschamps. “No evidence of foul play.”
The fire was originally reported to the fire department as a “barn fire.”
Local retired commercial fisherman Gary Green once used the building as a place to repair his nets and recalled its connection to the Women’s Institute. “It was quite the popular going concern in its own time,” he recalled. “It had a bit of a stage at one end and a lot of people recall going to dances way back in the day. There were even places to tie up your horses outside the building at one time.”
