Adam Prudhomme
Editor
A gap of a mere 25 feet, give or take, is all that separates the Napanee District Curling Club (NDCC) from the site of Lennox Agricultural Society Memorial Community Centre.
So when the latter was leveled by fire on the morning of Oct. 23, the chances the Curling Club would also be lost were quite high. Only the expert response by the Napanee Fire Department, working in partnership with stations from Kingston and Loyalist, prevented any loss to the surrounding structures. On Friday the NDCC welcomed firefighters from those three stations to the club to express their appreciation for preserving their building.
Putting their efforts into curling terms, NDCC president Heather Ramshaw called it Napanee Fire chief Bill Hammond’s eight-ender. In curling circles an eight-ender is the rarest of all feats, representing a perfect end with all eight rocks being closest to the button.
“We were going to maybe take over a box of donuts, then we thought we really want them to see the community and the membership of the building that they saved that night,” Ramshaw said of the need for a special ceremony to recognize the efforts of the firefighters. “I think we all know that memorial building wasn’t going to be saved. They worked tirelessly to save the Curling Club, to save all barns (next door at the Fairgrounds). I live around the corner and I was there watching it at 3 a.m. with residents that were in front of their homes.”
Included in the plaque was an eight-ender pin, which is only given out to those curlers who achieve perfection.
“Chief Hammond, what you and your team did on that night is what we consider your eight-ender,” said Ramshaw, which was accentuated by a standing ovation by curling club members who were in attendance.
The memorial arena was the original home of the NDCC from 1957-61, at which point they moved into their current home right next door, which now boasts 200 active members, some third generation curlers. Ramshaw empathized with community groups such as the Pickleball Club and Napanee Royal Canadian Sea Cadets Corp, who were displaced by the fire.
“Our close call has only reinforced our feelings of sorrow for them, but also reinforces our appreciation for (the firefighters) for having not lost this building that has so many memories for so many people,” said Ramshaw.
She went on to note at the time of the fire there were five club trophies that were at Hart n’ Hart. Those would have been the only few relics that would still be here today had the curling building caught fire.
NDSS curlers Hailey Bruce and Reese Hutchison present a poster signed by junior curlers to Napanee Fire chief Bill Hammond and firefighter Trevor Sager. Photo by Adam Prudhomme.
Hailey Brice and Reese Hutchison of the Napanee District Secondary School curling team, who are also members of the NDCC junior program, presented the firefighters with a homemade poster signed by the various juniors who call the NDCC their home club.
Greater Napanee mayor Terry Richardson was also on hand for the ceremony.
“The first thing I thought of was the Curling Club because it sounded like the arena was engulfed,” Richardson recalled of when he first heard of the fire. “You start to think about ‘oh my goodness, what else is going to happen’? My first thought was the curling rink so when I came in in the morning I was extremely surprised and happy to see this building. There’s a ton of history in this building and there’s a ton of history to this community and I had this conversation just this morning and you look around here, they don’t build buildings like this anymore. Yes we’ve all got our memories, but they fade after time. That’s not going to happen because we’ve got this building.”
Napanee District Curling Club still stands today thanks to the efforts of local firefighters with help from stations in Loyalist and Kingston. Photo by Adam Prudhomme.
Hammond says he appreciates all the recognition his staff have been given by the community.
“At the height of the fire we had 36 staff with three departments, nine apparatus,” said Hammond. “We were really lucky that night for residents that called it in early. The wind that we did have in the early hours was blowing in the perfect direction, away from this building. Crews worked extremely hard in pushing this wall away, the arena wall, with hand lines. Our master streams were focused on the actual arena itself. I’m super proud of all three departments.”
Just a few feet away from the rubble of the Lennox Agriculutral Society Memorial Centre, the Napanee District Curling Club stands unharmed. Photo by Adam Prudhomme.
He reiterated just how fortunate they were that no other structures were damaged.
“We are standing in a building that I was concerned about early on in the fire,” said Hammond. “I had no idea what the crews at the back of the building were facing because I was in the front. With all the wooden structures behind this building, if one of those caught fire, the radiant heat would have overtaken this building.”
Hammond also made note that all of the town’s departments played a role in recovering from the fire, from waterworks, communications, parks and rec, roads and finance.
“In my almost 30 years, it’s the biggest fire I’ve ever had,” said Hammond.
Bad as it was, it’s not lost on anyone in that building that it could have been a lot worse.