Historic northern Ontario building destroyed in Christmas Day fire

A 116-year-old historic building in Cochrane, known as Anderson House or Thib’s Tavern, was destroyed in a fire on Christmas Day.

For over a century, the corner of Fourth Avenue in Cochrane, Ont., stood as a testament to the town’s resilience and social fabric.

“I met my wife there, and many others have done the same,” said Cochrane Mayor Peter Politis.

But Christmas morning, that history was reduced to rubble as a fire tore through the Anderson House, leaving 20 residents homeless and a community mourning a landmark that had stood for 116 years.

“This building provided a significant place for our community to develop memories and camaraderie,” Politis said.

“There isn’t a person in this town that doesn’t have a story out of that tavern, from old to young.”

Known to many residents as Thib’s Tavern, the Anderson House was built in the early 20th century and opened in 1909.

“For some perspective, Cochrane was incorporated in 1910,” Politis said.

“In 1909, this building went up and it was a gathering place that burnt a year later, it burnt again in 2019 and here it’s burned the third time.”

Originally a popular hotel and bar, it was eventually converted into a residential rooming house.

The fire broke out just before 9 a.m. on Dec. 25 and took eight hours to extinguish.

“We had 20 volunteers respond to the fire,” said Cochrane Deputy Fire Chief Dean Hooey. “We were able to protect the exposures, which included the Town Hall and the neighbouring DSSAB apartments.”

OPP Sgt. Martin Thibault said that while three minor injuries were reported, all residents were accounted for.

The Ontario Fire Marshal is currently investigating the cause.

“There’s no information to provide officers to believe that there is any suspicion,” Thibault said.

“We don’t have a point of origin at this point.”

The destruction of the Anderson House immediately triggered a wave of generosity from the community.

The Red Cross, the Ininew Friendship Centre and the Cochrane Food Bank worked together to help the displaced residents.

Ardis Chedore, the local food bank manager, said the community also really stepped up to help.

“Some of it was toiletries, clothing,” Chedore said.

“Even one person so graciously donated their turkey from their Christmas dinner, they didn’t even have their own.”

Chedore said volunteers were able to assemble gift bags to donate to the displaced victims.

Loss of housing

“Every individual got their own bag,” she said.

“We loaded all up on the back of a pickup truck and, drove over and did that on Christmas Day.”

Chedore said the loss of the building added strain to an already exacerbated housing market.

“With the housing crisis, I’m not sure what the next steps are,” she said.

“We’ve really been reaching out to the community to find out if there are any rooms for rent, places available, anything to help these individuals have a permanent home.”

Chedore said, moving forward, financial and toiletry donations are always needed at the food bank.