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Old Marina goes up in flames at Puslinch Lake
The Old Marina (or Omar) has been a favourite haunt for residents of Waterloo Region and Wellington County for several generations. Today the smoke could be seen from the other end of Waterloo causing residents across Waterloo Region to wonder what was happening. The news wasn't good.
The Cambridge Fire Department was first called to the McClintock Drive scene around 12:45 p.m. Saturday, and were later joined by Puslinch and North Dumfries fire departments.
Several stations have responded to a fire at the Old Marina Restaurant on Puslinch Lake.
Firefighters from Kitchener and Guelph were also called in to help.
No injuries have been reported, but the loss of the Omar will be felt by thousands of residents and customers in the area. Summer or winter the Omar was a great, familiar destination to meet friends.
"We believe the area of origin is in the basement," said Puslinch Fire Chief Tom Mulvey. "Unfortunately we haven't been able to have a look around to see what the cause was. We don't consider it suspicious at this time.
"This is going to be a total loss of the building. We'll have some crews go in there after this is out and we're sure it's safe to do so. We'll have a look around, but it looks like a total loss fire."
Firefighters from Kitchener and Guelph were also called in to help.
"It didn't seem too bad at first and then all of a sudden I could see the flames coming through and the windows blowing out," said a witness.
Around 3:45 p.m., OPP tweeted that Lake Road was closed between Wellington Road 32 and Townline Road for the fire.
"For one hour there were no flames, just smoke, and then the flames came," said a witness
This is the second fire at the restaurant since it opened in the 1990s.
Photos: Puslinch Fire and Rescue Service
