'Heroic' firefighters battle southern Manitoba golf clubhouse fire days after grand reopening

A clubhouse at a southern Manitoba golf course was ravaged by a fire on Saturday, less than a week after its grand reopening from a fire that destroyed the building three years ago.

The cause of the fire remains unknown, but the impact of its loss has devastated community members in Morden, Man., said the city's Mayor Nancy Penner on Sunday morning. 

"It feels especially heartbreaking given that we had just celebrated the ribbon cutting on New Year's Eve," she said of the Minnewasta Golf and Country Club. 

"We were extremely proud of the dedication and hard work demonstrated by not only the executive of the club, but the management team who brought the vision of our new clubhouse to life."

Santa Lucia Pizza opened at the clubhouse — which houses the dining area, hall and kitchen — during fall for larger events and social gatherings, and welcomed the public in December, Penner said. 

The restaurant area could seat approximately 50 people whereas the banquet area could seat up to 150 people. 

The New Year's Eve celebration showcased the newly-renovated building and made community members feel excited to spend time at the clubhouse in anticipation of the upcoming golf season, she said. 

Greg Hesom, general manager of the golf club told CBC News on Sunday the past hours have been "a roller coaster of emotions."

"Finally, we [were] the way we wanted to be and start looking forward, and five days later that all changes again and you're back to square one," he added.

The extent of damage left by the fire was significant, and while insurance hasn't determined how much of the building is in total loss or what can be salvaged, Hesom said the structure that's still standing is "totally unstable."

"You've been working on something for three years ... and then in a matter of hours is gone again," he said. 

The Morden fire department received reports of the fire shortly after 1:40 a.m., said fire chief Andy Thiessen. Fire crews from the City of Winkler and the small community of Plum Coulee were also called to help put out the flames using water tankers and pumper trucks. 

"It was a cold night too so that didn't help us much, so we had to rotate … through personnel and a couple of trucks went down because of the cold," Thiessen said. 

When firefighters arrived at the scene, there was heavy smoke and flames coming from the building's roof.