Iconic Waegwoltic Club goes up in flames in yet another Halifax fire

Crews are battling a large fire at the historic Waegwoltic Club in Halifax, as Nova Scotia deals with scorching temperatures and out-of-control wildfires.

The blaze at the Waegwoltic Club, located on Coburg Road on the Northwest Arm of Halifax, began at around 1:30 p.m. Thursday.

There is thick black smoke in the south end, and photos on social media show flames shooting out of the roof of the club’s main building.

Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency Deputy Chief David Meldrum said firefighters were taking a defensive strategy for safety reasons.

“Initially, we went in the offensive strategy, which means we entered the building to extinguish the fire. But the fire is too severe and we are now in the defensive strategy,” he said during a 5 p.m. briefing.

“We have been able to salvage some photos and historically important artifacts from the building before we had to leave the building and go defensive.”

He added that the club will “receive very significant structural damage, perhaps destruction.”

At the time there were 10 apparatus and 50 personnel at the scene.

Roof is gone, 3rd floor burning down to 2nd. pic.twitter.com/GcuJR8hq93

— Ryan Luciano (@ryan_lucia66185) June 1, 2023

The members-only recreation facility — which features tennis courts, pools, basketball and volleyball courts, and dining areas — was founded in 1908. The club has hosted royalty, the G7 summit in 1995, and is a popular venue for weddings.

The facility was undergoing renovations, after a previous fire in April of this year significantly damaged the main building.

Halifax Mayor Mike Savage spoke about the fire during an afternoon briefing with Premier Tim Houston and other officials to update the fire situation.

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“I’ve been told to please mention there is an active fire at the Waegwoltic Club in Halifax, which was under repairs. I understand there was one camp who have safely evacuated,” Savage said.

“It is contained to that one building at this point in time, but it is a very active fire scene.”

He added there was another serious fire burning at the time in Fall River, but noted that firefighting crews were not being pulled from fire scenes elsewhere in the community to fight these.

Deputy Chief David Meldrum said the department had a “very high” call volume Thursday, with 12 outside fires since noon.