RCMP asking for photos, videos of fire that destroyed historic Cape Breton inn

The RCMP is asking for the public’s help as it investigates a fire that levelled the main lodge of an historic inn on Cape Breton’s Bras d’Or Lakes.

Police are asking anyone with photos or videos of Thursday’s fire at Baddeck’s Inverary Resort to share them with investigators.

They are particularly interested in images depicting the fire’s early stages between 2 and 3 a.m.

Staff Sgt. Darren Waidson, of Victoria District RCMP, says small details that show up in photos or videos “might provide valuable information” to investigators.

The blaze destroyed the threestorey main building that housed the dining room, lobby, pub and several units attached to it in an addition.

The Mounties say they are working with the Nova Scotia Office of the Fire Marshal to determine the cause of the fire.

Images and video on social media showed flames consuming the building, which glowed orange in the darkness. One video shows the whole building collapsing in on itself as flames poured out of the windows.

The rustic retreat has been described as a “cornerstone of the community” since it was built in the late 19th century by a Cape Breton man dubbed “Millionaire” MacNeil.

The resort’s website says the original home was built by MacNeil “to show off the fortune he made in Boston.” Materials for the house, barn and wagon house were imported from the American city and became a showpiece for the Cape Breton community.

Brothers Chad and Jamie Fownes bought the property after the Second World War and opened the Inverary Inn at the end of their military service, the website says.

A tiny brown chapel that was donated to the owners by legendary Toronto Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe was not damaged in the fire, according to Cape Breton musician Keith Mullins, who entertains at the Inverary a few nights every week.

It’s believed all of the guests and staff got out without injury.