Pointe-Claire's historic Pioneer Bar flooded by broken water pipe

The 117-year-old Pioneer Bar in Point-Claire was flooded by a leaky water pipe Sunday, leaving those trying to save it from demolition "devastated."

"We were thinking that something like this might happen if the building was not taken care of through the winter, but we are absolutely devastated," Tracy McBean told CBC News on Monday. 

"We are still on a mission to save that building."

McBean is a member of the Pointe-Claire historical society and the committee working to save the historical building from being developed into a condo complex.

She was eating dinner Sunday when she got a call from a fellow committee member, telling her there was a flood in the building. She rushed to the scene and saw city and fire officials were already on site, working to pump water from the flooded basement.

"The sound, it was like a river in the basement," McBean said. "The water was moving so fast."

Water almost to the ceiling

Ian Ritchie, chief of operations for the Montreal fire department, told CBC News that a witness saw water pouring out of the basement windows at around 8 p.m. and notified authorities. 

A two-inch pipe inside the bar broke and lead to significant flooding in the basement, reaching depths of seven to eight feet — almost to the ceiling, he said.

Firefighters had trouble shutting off the water right away because the valve leading to the building was broken.

As of early Monday, it is not clear how much damage was done by the flooding.

According to the Save Le Pionnier Facebook page, an alarm was going off all day Sunday. Authorities pumped the water out that evening, a statement on the page says.

The City of Pointe-Claire is expected to send a crew to repair that valve later today.

Condos at the site?

The bar has been closed to the public since summer.

It was on the market for 10 years before it was purchased by a developer who was hoping to build four businesses and 15 condos on the lot. 

A demolition notice went up at the building over the summer.

Citizens and heritage organizations opposed the plan, saying the building has historical value and complements the Pointe-Claire Village.

In early October, the council rejected the developer's proposal, but the demolition permit is good until March. The developer has until then to submit another proposal. If it fits the city's requirements, it could be approved.

Fight to save building to continue

"Clearly, we have a new pool in the middle of Pointe-Claire Village," Michel Forest, the president of the Pointe Claire historical society, told CBC Montreal's Daybreak.

Like McBean, he went to the site when he heard the basement had been flooded. It was an unfortunate event, he said, but it is not going to stop the effort to save the building.

The historical society and many citizens still want the building saved, he said, and advocates will be meeting with city officials to push for new planning regulations in the area.

The flooding, he said, will just make it "a little more complicated" when it is time to renovate the building "if and when we manage to save it."

The basement, added McBean, was unfinished and mostly used for its utility room and storage. Once the water is pumped out, "there should be no major damage," he said.