The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Flin Flon's largest hotel was closed for most of the week after a small electrical fire struck the main power panel. The freak occurrence Sunday night forced authorities to turn off the power to the Victoria Inn until the damaged panel could be replaced. A re-opening was planned for yesterday at noon. "We had no heat, no hot water, no lights, no nothing," said general manager David Brooks. Brooks expressed his gratitude to employees who promptly located the trouble spot and used fire extinguishers to tackle the flames, which were contained to the panel. Fire Chief Jim Petrie was just as grateful. "It could have easily have spread throughout the hotel, but fortunately the employees found the fire quick enough and phoned the fire department quick enough," he said. Petrie added that such electrical fires are quite rare. The electricity remained shut off through Monday and part of Tuesday as a crew called in from Winnipeg worked to replace the panel, located in the hotel's lower level. The hotel first restored temporary electricity, bypassing the main panel, to provide emergency power for heat and appliances such as freezers. The 14 guests present Sunday were evacuated and sent to RJ's Motel in Creighton. Brooks estimates that about another 85 guests had to be turned away throughout the week. He wasn't yet sure how much revenue the incident would cost the hotel, which also operates a restaurant, lounge, and bar.
