A fire that destroyed a popular motorcycle shop in Lucan early Sunday morning is not believed to be suspicious.
Hog Town Cycles, a fixture on Main Street, went up in flames around 6:45 a.m.
"When we arrived on scene there was heavy, heavy smoke going directly to the north and right up Main Street," said Lucan Biddulph fire Chief Ron De Brouwer. "At that time Granton Fire Department was also dispatched for a confirmed structure fire. After they were dispatched Alisa Craig was dispatched for our third department in for all units and all manpower."
No one was inside the building when the blaze broke out and there were no injuries reported.
De Brouwer noted the fire appears to have started in the back and that the historic, one-storey building's steel roof likely helped save neighbouring structures by keeping the flames contained.
It took firefighters roughly an hour and a half to gain control of the difficult fire. OPP rerouted traffic off of Main Street while crews doused the flames. Investigators with the Ontario Fire Marshal's office are expected to arrive on scene Monday afternoon.
"The fire does not appear to be suspicious at all at this time," said De Brouwer. "The reason the Ontario Fire Marshal has been called in is because once a fire does over $500,000 damage then automatically they have to be called."
Damage is pegged between $1.4-million and $1.6-million, according to an early damage estimate.
Husband and wife Mike Koricina and Teresa Burns opened Hog Town Cycles, which specializes in selling and servicing used Harley Davidsons, in 2012. The building it was located in dates back to the mid-1800s. Koricina and Burns are also the masterminds behind Lucan Baconfest, an annual one-day event that draws more than 30,000 people to the town of 2,900. The event began in 2013 as a customer appreciation event for Hog Town, but quickly grew into a community celebration with the business partnering with the municipality.
Lucan Biddulph Mayor Cathy Burghardt-Jesson, who rushed to the scene Sunday, said the destruction of a community staple was devastating.
"Seeing it, it just took my breath away. Immediately my eyes filled with tears," said Burghardt-Jesson. "The building itself has such a history in the town of Lucan... so to see the devastation it just gets you in your gut."
She applauded the work of the three fire departments that kept the fire from spreading to nearby buildings and stressed the community will rally around Koricina and Burns.
"When Hog Town came into business about seven years ago it really did rejuvenate our main street. I know our community will rally around them, they have been such great supporters of our community and our community events."
While offering her support to the pair, the subject of this year's Baconfest, slated for July 13, came up in conversation.
"Teresa didn't hesitate. She said 'I don't know what this site is going to look like on July 13, but we will be here. There will be something on this site and we will continue to be part of Baconfest.' They were the originators of Baconfest and it wouldn't be the event that it is without our partnership with them," said Burghardt-Jesson.
Hog Town posted a message to its Facebook page Monday thanking the community for its support and patience following the fire.
"The bravery and quick actions of local firefighters saved our neighbouring business and housing, for that we will be forever grateful. We are working to restore our phone lines and get an alternate location ready to continue serving our community. The vast inventory we had accumulated over the years and unique history of the building we called Hogtown is lost forever, which for the most part is an irreplaceable memory," the message states.
Hog Town concluded its post by adding plans are already in the works to reopen its parts and service departments in the near future with details on a location to follow.
