The Ottawa Citizen from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • 46

E2 THE OTTAWA CITIZEN SATURDAY, JULY 10, 2004 CITY MORETO THE STORY Vanier mall hit by fire suffered similar fate four decades ago Enalvivw burn Fire hits shopping plaza Ottawa askfd lo -ihJ help BY DANIEL TENCER History repeats itself, and the world of retail is no exception. The Vanier strip mall that was gutted by fire last weekend suffered a similar fate more than 40 years ago. On Dec. 26, 1963, three stores at McArthur Plaza, near the corner of McArthur Av- enue and Carmen Street, were destroyed by a fire that started in the back of the plaza's IG A supermarket A crowd of several thousand gath-' ered as firefighters from the Ottawa and Eastview (later Vanier) fire departments fought the blaze that consumed the IGA Foodliner, an R.A. Beamish store and a Bata shoe store and damaged a Reitman's clothing 1 store, the Citizen's afternoon edition reported that day.

Losses were estimated at $625,000, which would translate into about $4.1 million today. By comparison, the fire that de-1 stroyed more than a dozen businesses at McArthur Plaza nearly a week ago is estimated to have caused more than $10 million in damage. The 1963 fire was believed to have started near a heating unit at the back of the supermarket, then spreading to neighbouring stores. It was first reported at 11:25 a.m. on Boxing Day, and by noon was so out of control that the Eastview fire department which had 17 of its 18 firefighters at the scene called the Ottawa fire department for help.

Black and white smoke enveloped nearby apartment buildings as the flames shattered the stores' display windows, and small explosions could be heard above the roar and crackle of the fire, the Citizen reported. It took the Ottawa and Eastview fire departments 4'i hours to bring the blaze under control. Bertram Loeb, the founder of Canada's IGA chain and co-owner of the supermarket that occupied the southern end of McArthur Plaza in 1963, said at the time that fire had caused $200,000 ($1.3 million by today's standards) in damage to his supermarket Speaking from his home in Chelsea, the 88-year-old Mr. Loeb recalled yesterday that the insurance settlement his supermarket received from the fire was "attractive" enough to rebuild the store from scratch. Mr.

Loeb relocated the 35 IGA employees at that store to other stores while the reconstruction was underway. In 1963, Mr. Loeb presided over five IGA supermarkets in the Ottawa area. He inherited his father's confectionery business in the mid-1950s, building them into a chain of supermarkets under the IGA name after he bought the regional rights to that brand. The Loeb supermarket located at McArthur Plaza today which sustained only minor smoke and water damage in Sunday's fire is a descendant of the IGA was destroyed in 1963.

Since its construction in 1958, McArthur Plaza has had more than its share of misfortune. Over the years, the plaza has seen a number of armed robberies, including an incident in March 1995, when three masked gunmen entered the Loeb IGA in the early evening and opened fire, prompting terrified shoppers to flee the building. One person was injured. Then in 1991, one man was charged with attempted murder after shooting another man three times in the plaza's parking lot Sea disaster probe urgcil 1 Cain nil "'mml Blaze was arson, police confirm ALL ON SALE Rosenthal JULY Thomas Versace Johnson Bros. Exciting promotions and specials in store! The fire that destroyed the McArthur Plaza in Vanier last week-' end was set by arsonists, police confirmed yesterday.

The fire, which originated in Biddi's Buy and Sell, a second-hand store, de-" stroyed most of the 18-unit strip mall with damage now estimated at more than $10 million. Although there are no suspects, Det. Sgt. Mike Haarbosch of the Ottawa police arson squad said his unit will lead the investigation now that it has been deemed a criminal matter. "There is no question in our minds that this fire was deliberately set," Sgt Haarbosch added, although he declined to say what led to that conclusion.

1 Mario Hamelin, who opened a tattoo parlour in the plaza just two months ago, said he was "shocked" that the fire was set by arsonists. "If it had been an accident, I would be much less angry," he said. Next Saturday, the Vanier Business Improvement Area and MPs and MPPs for the area will host a strawberry pancake breakfast and yard sale at Bernard Grandmaitre Arena, 309 McArthur Ave. Proceeds from the event, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., will go to those affected by the fire.

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