146 Bayswater

Fire of 1900

The damage of the Great Fire of 1900 was enabled by the lack of preparation on the part of the Ottawa Fire Department. In 1897, the West Block fire on Parliament Hill resulted in the resignation of the Fire Chief Young. City officials picked a Peter Provost from Montréal to become the new Chief and to overhaul the Department. Provost had come with the Montréal group to help with the West Block fire. He was experienced in reorganising Fire Departments, as he had helped with the Department in New Brunswick. The picking of an “outsider” to revamp the Department meant that Provost could make decisions without being accused of favoritism.

Though Provost did manage to create a clear chain of command and successfully disciplined his men, he was working with far too few firefighters and without enough money for equipment. He was concerned about the fire hose which kept bursting and, in addition, requested another steam truck which he did not receive.Since the number of big fires of 1898 and 1899 were much lower than that of previous years, city politicians did not see the need to give him his new equipment. The lack of men and outdated equipment set up the tragedy of 1900. Another factor is that the major industry of Ottawa and Hull was lumber: the giant piles of drying timber on either side of the Ottawa River were the ideal fodder for fire.

The fire began at around 10:00 am on April 26, 1900. The initial blaze was a chimney fire in the home of Antoine Kirouac. His frame house was located within a neighbourhood of frame houses, in the centre of the business district of Hull. The Ottawa Fire Department responded without much concern, but northwesterly winds fanned the flames and vast swathes of the city were consumed in only two hours. The wind blew sparks and shingles across the river from the huge piles of lumber in Hull to those on the Ottawa side. At 2:00 pm, MacKay Milling Company’s flour mill was destroyed, as was the Electric Light Power House, whose destruction caused the whole city to remain in darkness for five days. The militia was enlisted to souse the streets with water, which saved the eastern part of the city. By evening, the winds died down and the cliffs west of Concession St. (now Bronson Ave.) helped stop the fire—though fire fighting continued on the edges. In total, the fire caused $10,000,000 of property damage, $3,000,000 of lost drying lumber, and 15,000 homeless people. Somehow, only seven people died in the fire, though many later lost their lives due to injuries and sickness caused by the fire. Refugees were hosted in the houses of friends and tents in Cartier Square Drill Hall and Lansdowne Park—luckily the weather was fairly warm, so those who slept outside did not suffer.


Hintonburg was not very affected by the fire. This is due to the Canadian Pacific and Canadian Atlantic Railways, which created a break in flammable material over which the flames could not easily jump without the help of the winds which had since died down. The residents likely stayed at the edge of the village ready to put out any sparks—many other Ottawa residents did the same for their own houses, but were unsuccessful. Only four houses in Hintonburg were lost in the fire, all of which were located in the area of Bayswater. One of these houses was 146 Bayswater, which at that time was owned by David Cuthbertson. Other houses were 142 Bayswater belonging to George Rochester, 168 Bayswater owned by John F. Kennedy, and a house belonging to James Campbell which was located where Highway 417 exists now.

Hintonburg increased in population with the displaced residents from Rochesterville. The village also did great business because of all the lost commerce in LeBreton Flats and the Preston Area.  Massive rebuilding campaigns began at the end of the year led to 750 homes in the Ottawa-Hull area, but unfortunately most of these homes were destroyed in the fire of May 1903. 



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