Updated photo of the fire at the Hoito courtesy of Katie Nicholls
Now that that the smoke has cleared and some time has passed since the historic Finnish Labour Temple’s fire, it looks like there could be a cause.
The Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office (OFM) likely won’t be able to determine one because they’ve deemed the building unsafe to enter. Without being able to enter the building, the OFM was using drones to gather information.
Building and property owner Brad McKinnon spoke to Acadia News about historic property.
McKinnon detailed that a private investigation was done to try and determine the exact cause of the blaze. Their investigator was able to safely gain access inside to every room of the building, as well as up to the third floor where officials believe the fire started.
While not being able to provide Acadia News with the full report, McKinnon did comment that the investigator believes they have found out what started the devastating blaze.
He made it clear to our news outlet that it wasn’t arson.
We’ve collected information that we need to satisfy cause and origin from a legal standpoint in court, and we’ll be releasing our own findings separate from the Fire Marshal…
People need to understand that this fire is not undetermined. Ok, from a legal standpoint it is not undetermined. And it is definitely not arson.
Moving forward, he Acadia News was told that it would take time to figure out how much it will it would cost to start rebuilding.
McKinnon also said he still remains committed to keeping the historical facade of the building, including what they can rebuild for the tower and the cupola.
