Elctricity is to blame

A wiring problem is being blamed for a fire that levelled a landmark north-end Halifax eatery Wednesday.

The former North End Diner and North End Pub complex on Gottingen Street was a mess of charred and icy rubble Thursday.

The fire broke out mid-afternoon and took just two hours to reduce much of the more than 100-year-old structure to ruins.

"It was an electrical malfunction above a bathroom ceiling in a void space," said Divisional Fire Chief Bryson Wilson.

About 30 firefighters rushed to the burning bar and restaurant at about 3 p.m. but they were soon forced to fight the flames from the exterior.

Crews were rotated every three or four hours "to keep them out of the cold weather and to prevent hypothermia from setting in," said the divisional chief.

Most of the fire was out by suppertime but excavators were used to move debris so hot spots could be doused.

Around midnight, investigators started sifting through the charred timbers and twisted metal. By 4 a.m. they had confirmed a wiring problem was to blame.

Late Thursday morning, security tape surrounded what was left of the business and security guards hired by the owner, Grafton Conner Group, kept people away from the rubble.

The fire has left about 25 people jobless and at least two people who lived above the pub homeless.

Waitress Karen King stood across the street at about 11 a.m. shaking her head, as if in disbelief.

She woke up Thursday morning at 5:30 as usual, but no longer had a 6:30 shift to go to.

"I was just wandering in the house. I couldn’t stay home," she said.

"I’m at a loss for words."

She hadn’t heard from the Grafton Conner Group but believed officials were meeting Thursday morning and would soon get in touch. Group spokesman Gary Muise could not be reached for comment.

"It will be missed. I hope we can have a place where we can all gather again and have as much fun and enjoy every day as we did in the past," Ms. King said.

An apartment complex and convenience store next to the pub and diner were saved by a brick firewall, Divisional Chief Wilson said. The apartment occupants were evacuated until just before midnight Wednesday.

Amber Bishop, an apartment resident and manager of the Needs store in the building, as well as her boyfriend and four cats spent much of Wednesday afternoon and evening in a Metro Transit bus brought in as a temporary shelter.

"The cats weren’t thrilled," Ms. Bishop said.

Red Cross volunteers hosted the evacuees and offered drinks and a hot meal.

While she sat in the bus, she saw several employees of the pub and diner milling around and watching their workplace burn.

"They were looking confused and lost," she said.

( djeffrey@herald.ca)

’It will be missed. I hope we can have a place where we can all gather again and have as much fun and enjoy every day as we did in the past.’