'Hard to believe that it's gone': Councillor hopes Waegwoltic Club will rebuild

A historic Halifax tennis and aquatic club that was destroyed by a fire on Thursday will be missed by generations, a local councillor says.

Fire crews were called to the Waegwoltic Club on Coburg Road around at 1:35 p.m. AT, as others battled multiple blazes throughout the municipality.

Roy Hollett, deputy chief of Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency, confirmed the club was destroyed at a news briefing about wildfire conditions Friday morning.

"It's gone," Hollett said, adding that once the fire went through the roof, firefighters turned to defensive strategy to protect what was around the building.

"The building collapsed on itself and that's extremely dangerous so what we had to do was bring in an excavator to help dig out that pile so we could start applying water, but unfortunately, the Waeg is gone."

Waye Mason, the municipal councillor for Halifax South Downtown, lives nearby, and heard about the fire as it was happening.

"I was hearing from my neighbours from the street yesterday how sad they were. It's been a part of so many people's lives for so long that it's just hard to believe that it's gone," Mason told CBC Radio's Information Morning Nova Scotia on Friday.

In a briefing Thursday evening, Halifax Fire Deputy Chief David Meldrum said some artifacts had been saved from the building.

The Waeg was built in 1908, and Mason said it had contributed to Halifax's history.

"You hear people talking about how the dining room hosted [former United States president] Bill Clinton and [former Russia president] Boris Yeltsin during the G7 in the '90s," he said.

"And certainly a lot of people have family memories and heard stories of their own family being in the building for a really long time."

He said he's hopeful the Waeg will rebuild.

"It's a real tragedy. It's one of those kind of older, very traditional turn-of-the-century kind of Nova Scotian building," adding that many people would've wanted to book weddings and events there this summer.

"They've been such an important part of the community in Halifax and on the entire region for the last five generations."

Another fire at the Waeg was reported on April 14, and was said to have been intentionally set. Meldrum said this new fire did not appear to be related.

The fire at the Waeg occurred while a dozen crews were busy with wildfires in Shelburne County and the Halifax area.

"We have multiple crews going to each location, some of them are small, but each one requires a response," Meldrum said Thursday.