Saskatchewan RCMP say the fire that burned down a building in a small village southeast of Regina is being deemed non-suspicious. At approximately 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Indian Head RCMP received a report of a structure on fire at Railway Avenue in the village of Kendal - located 77 kilometres southeast of Regina. Mounties in the area warned residents while members of the Montmartre Fire Department worked to contain the fire, RCMP said in a statement to CTV News Monday. Two people were assessed by paramedics at the scene in connection to the smoke and heat caused by the fire, according to RCMP. The fire was contained to the building where it began. However, the structure was destroyed. Residents in the area said the building, known as the Hunters Lodge, was used as the town hall for decades before becoming the Drifters Salloon. In recent years it sat vacant. “Years ago it was a dance hall. I can’t really quote on how many years ago, but it was quite the dance place and was quite popular,” Andy Knickle, a resident who lives in the neighbourhood, told CTV News on Sunday. “Over the years, time took its toll. People stopped stopping in. A gentleman bought it and turned it into a hunting lodge. The Americans would come up and hunt ducks and deer in the fall, and then they would leave and come back the following year.” Those in the community stepped in to help quell the flames. A neighbour to the property used their garden hose to help put out hotspots amidst the wreckage - while local farmers chipped in by bringing a tractor to help contain the scene. “We’re a tight-knit community,” Knickle said. “We have a good council and good people.”
