An electrical panel fire in the basement at Pedder's Pub in downtown Sudbury late Wednesday night has not only shut down the restaurant, it has displaced the 13 people who live in the six apartments in the building's upper floor.
The fire at the Cedar Street building was reported to Greater Sudbury Fire Services at 11:40 p.m. Nov. 27.
Acting Platoon Chief Phil Langis said this was just one of a record 70 calls the fire department received during his shift on Wednesday, while a major snowstorm hit Greater Sudbury.
That snowstorm caused power outages and surges across the city, a situation the fire department suspects caused the Peddler's Pub blaze.
“It was downstairs in the basement, underneath the back bar area,” Langis said.
“That's where all their fuse panels come in from the back laneway. As everybody in Sudbury knows, that night we were experiencing a lot of electrical anomalies around the city with power outages and surges.
“That's sort of where we found all the major damage, was in that area.”
A post on the Peddler's Pub Facebook page also said the fire was caused by the electrical panel shorting out during the snowstorm.
Damage to the building is estimated at around $150,000, Langis said. That includes damage to the electrical system, melted water pipes and smoke damage.
The 12 adults, one child, one dog and two cats living in the apartments upstairs are displaced for now until the electrical system can be repaired, as there's currently no power to the building, Langis said.
Thankfully, fire alarms alerted the residents to the fire, and they were all evacuated by the time firefighters arrived.
“You can't be complacent when your alarm goes off,” Langis said. “A lot of people wait, and you can wait too long, and things can take off fast. It didn't this time, but the potential is always there.”
Peddler's Pub said on its Facebook page the restaurant plans to rebuild “and make the bar better than ever.”
“It’s not the stuff that makes Peddler's, it’s the people,” the post said. “So sure our stuff is smoked out and Xmas has been derailed … but fear not … Peddler's will be back soon.”
The post also thanked the firefighters who saved the building.
“Come by and check our progress, and if anyone wants to see something done in the place, I’m open to suggestions,” said the post. “I’ll be there every day making our bar come back to life.”
