Lobster Boathouse on Fire
Fire claimed a storage/workshop building on the property of lobster fisherman Donald Gavin, and his wife Edith. Edith Gavin said she was relieved nobody was hurt, with three people working inside the structure at the time the fire broke out. Her husband had just arrived in the house for a cup of coffee from working in the building when the blaze began. The 50 ft. by 28 ft. structure was destroyed as well as gear, tools and equipment worth an estimated $150,000, said Edith Gavin. “I don’t look at it that way. It could have been worse,” she said in a phone interview from her home, only a short distance from the charred building. “Everybody’s safe and fine.” A lobster boat located 20 to 30 ft. from the doomed building was spared, as was the family’s dog. There’s not much left of the structure, said Gavin, noting the roof “was gone. It’s a big loss.” Tignish firefighter Joe O’Rourke said 22 Tignish firefighters, plus Alberton firefighters, were at the scene for close to three hours fighting the blaze and then cooling down the property. West Prince RCMP also attended the fire and staff with the P.E.I. fire marshal’s office will be visiting the site to determine the cause.