Historic St. Andrews home burns

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This article was published 03/01/2025 (258 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG — A historic home in St. Andrews once owned by a member of Louis Riel’s provisional government burned down Thursday.

The rural municipality’s firefighters rushed to the Firth House at 546 River Rd. just past 8 a.m., and quickly had to call in crews from Clandeboye and West St. Paul.

The home is privately owned. No one was inside at the time of the fire.

The Firth House had been deemed a total loss by the afternoon, and crews had knocked down whatever was left of the structure after the fire.

“It’s down now. That’s it — it’s done,” St. Andrews deputy fire chief Joe Carreiro said from the scene.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, and the property was taped off by fire crews. The fire might still be smouldering, and residents should avoid the area, Carreiro said.

The home was built in 1861 and given historical designation in 1987. It was built for Thomas Firth, a retired fur trader with the Hudson Bay Company. Firth was one of many traders who built homes along the Red River, but few remain today.

It might have been built by notable stonemason Duncan McRae, who built multiple landmarks in the area, including St. Andrew’s-on-the-Red.

The house was also known as the Hay House after E.H.G.G. Hay, who bought it in 1911. He served in Manitoba’s first legislative assembly as a member of Riel’s government.

Manitoba Historical Society head researcher Gordon Goldsborough said privately owned homes with provincial heritage designation are more common than some might expect. There are guidelines owners have to follow when renovating historic buildings but no real protections to ensure the sites are kept in good condition, he said.

“Provincial historic sites do not receive any special protection,” Goldsborough said. “There’s no heritage police that go around and say, ‘Oh, you must maintain your house better because it’s not being well maintained.’ There’s no such thing.”

He said people sometimes buy heritage homes as a status symbol.

“All there really is is bragging rights — that if you own a building that is provincially designated, that means something, that it’s a significant thing historically,” Goldsborough said.

He said the loss of any older home is a blow to the growing belief that renovating and reusing older buildings with strong structures is more environmentally responsible than tearing them down and building from scratch.

» Winnipeg Free Press

“I would suggest that we have lost not just a bit of our heritage, but partly also a bit of our environmental sustainability,” he said.

St. Andrews Mayor Joy Sul said the RM is packed with historic landmarks, particularly along the Red River, including the Kennedy House, one of the other few early stone houses remaining in Manitoba.

She doesn’t remember the last time any of those sites were damaged by fire.

“It’s very sad … I’m just grateful nobody was hurt,” she said.

» Winnipeg Free Press