Vanier Sugar Shack heavily damaged by fire

An early morning fire caused the roof of a popular sugar shack in the heart of Vanier to partially collapseThursday.

Ottawa Fire Services received a call at 5:53 a.m. about smoke and flames visible in the forest behind the Richelieu-VanierCommunityCentre on Pres-Blancs Avenue.

Firefighters said flames were shooting from the sugar shack's roof, part of which had collapsed by the time crews arrived.

Rare urban sugar shack

Fearing the structure was too unstable to enter, firefighters fought the flames from outside. Investigators will try to determine the cause of the fire today.

The structure sits within a maple grove, or sugar bush, in the heart of Vanier, and is described on Vanier Museopark's websiteas "one of the few active urban sugar shacks."

Volunteers harvest sap from thetrees surrounding the building and transform it into maplesyrup.

The general director of the Vanier Museoparksaid in an interview Thursday morning the community museum intends to rebuild the popular attraction.

"I'm shocked. I'm really just shocked that it is gone.But at the same time, I say the soul of the shack is still there,"Jean Malavoysaid.

"The volunteers are still there, the energy of the people to rebuild is there."

Vanier sugar shack damaged in early morning fire

4 years ago

Duration 0:41

The roof of Vanier Museoparks Sugar Shack partially collapsed after sustaining damage in a fire that began early Thursday morning.