The Regina Elks Hall is a “complete loss” after a Sunday morning fire.
Emergency crews were dispatched around 5:00 am to battle the blaze at the building located on the 4000 block of 1st Avenue North.
Eugene Wilson, the Exalted Ruler of the Elks Lodge #9, says that he is feeling lost after the fire.
“I’m pretty at a loss at the moment,” said Wilson. “It’s the first Sunday of the month, normally this would have been our breakfast Sunday, we would have had people here enjoying a breakfast smorg, now we’re not able to do that.”
The building had been at its current location since the 80s, and Wilson says that the club relied heavily on the hall.
“The hall was our primary income,” said Wilson. “Without it, we won’t have any more wedding rentals, hall rentals, catering, meetings, funerals, this hall has done it all.”
The Elks do a lot of charity work in the community, but their primary focus is helping people, young and old, who are hearing impaired, get hearing aids.
Wilson says another thing that the Elks do, is give money to people who have lost their homes.
“One of the interesting ones is that, if you have a family and your house burns down, we’re there immediately with a $500 cheque on-site to help you now,” said Wilson. “And now, here we are.”
The cause of the fire has not been determined, as Regina Fire says it’s too early to tell.
There was no one inside the building at the time of the fire.
