One dead in Gladstone, Man., as Christmas fire destroys heritage hotel, pharmacy

A Christmas Day fire in thecommercial heart ofGladstone, Man., has killed one person and left at least 15 others without homes in the central Manitoba town, said Westlake-Gladstone Mayor Daryl Shipman.

Volunteer firefighters from Gladstone and the nearby towns ofNeepawa and Plumas,spent Christmas trying to douse a fire that destroyed Gladstone's historichotel and the neighbouring pharmacy which wasconverted into residential apartments, the mayor of the municipality said on Sunday afternoonas the fire was still smouldering.

Shipman surmised more people could have been hurt by the fire in the commercial buildings if it had occurred at a differenttime of year.

"We're fortunate that everybody else in the apartments in the hotel were out, faraway from the hotel, visiting family," he said. "Maybe that helped reduce fatalities or injuries."

A neighbouring structure called the Galloway Building, which also houses apartments, wasbadly damaged by smoke and water, the mayor said.

"The hydro had to be shut off because of the danger to firemen and water and now it'soff. It's 25 below.Water lines are going to freeze. The basement is going to freeze. There's hundreds, maybe 1,000 gallons in the basement," he said.

"It'sgoingtake a while to figure out."

The destruction of heritage buildings is significant for Gladstone, which previously lost heritage buildings in a 1979 fire.

"I am feeling sad and devastated. Our community is once again experiencing a very serious fire in our business section," Agassiz MLA Eileen Clarke wrote on Facebook on Christmas Day.

"This is so heartbreaking."

Shipmansaid the hotel and the apartments will be missed, especially given a shortage of housing in Gladstone. He praised volunteer firefighters for fighting the fire in the dark and cold.

The RCMP did not immediately respond to arequestfor information about the loss of life in the fire.

Gladstone is approximately 125kilometreswest of Winnipeg.