The Night of March 21st, 1950

The accounts of what happened and how the fire started that night vary widely. 

9:45 PM, Tuesday, March 21st. Jerome R. Speeder (or Spedden, depending on the source) was relaxing in his room in the guest house when he smelled smoke. Alarmed, he quickly exited his room and made for the stairwell, where he saw flames spreading from the first floor pantry. 

Jerome sprinted to the nearby Porter's Lodge where the telephone was located. The call was picked up at 10:15 at the Valley Falls Fire Station. In the meantime, the cellarer Brother Michael Desilets, also smelled smoke and ran down to the basement to grab a firehose. Upon seeing that there were no flames there, he instead decided to run and wake the monks who were asleep "in what was essentially a firetrap on the third floor" (Bertonière, 2005, p. 335). In reality, the whole of the guesthouse was a firetrap. It was the only building on the premises that was constructed using wood (only the facade was made of stone), and it was actually scheduled to be demolished and rebuilt at a later date (Levesque, 1986 & Bourget, n.d.). There was also a massive fuel tank located under the front porch that miraculously didn't catch fire and explode.

Incredibly, instead of yelling to wake everyone, Brother Michael decided to wake the Prior, Father John (someone who was able to speak) so that he could wake everyone. Again, incredibly instead of doing so, Father John went to see what was going on in the guesthouse, which "was a move he later regretted" (Bertonière, 2005, p. 335). Luckily by that time, enough monks were able to smell smoke and wake others who were still asleep. Reportedly, instead of breaking their vow of silence, "some tried to communicate in sign language or in a subdued whisper" (Bertonière, 2005, p. 336)!

It was a chaotic scene. As word spread, reportedly thousands of people from near and far came on foot or by car to witness the fire. Traffic on Diamond Hill Road was at a total standstill, which made it difficult for other fire brigades and ambulances to arrive. Police eventually had to barricade people from entering the monastery, as it was making things difficult for firefighters and other first responders.

Inside the building, the fire quickly spread from the first floor of the guesthouse. There were around 40 people who were able to escape down the flaming staircase. Later, upon finding the staircase blocked, a dozen people jumped out of second story windows to escape, while others escaped down a ladder that just so happened to be leaning against one of the buildings. Six monks who were staying in the infirmary on the third floor were carried to safety. Those who slept in the novitiate building were able to escape safely. Some ran back into the burning buildings to rescue precious relics, including vestments that were passed out of windows into the waiting arms of monks on ladders. Father Alberic Gainer ran into the church to save choir books, and managed to carry the tabernacle out in his arms. Sadly, Father Laurence, the monastery's archivist, tried to enter the flaming building, but ultimately could not save his four cabinets full of historical records, materials, and manuscripts that had survived two fires in Nova Scotia. 

Meanwhile in the chaos, three men broke into the cellar and attempted to steal jugs of sacramental wine, but were quickly stopped by police. Unbelievably, "spectators and even firemen were puzzled by a fire chief who did nothing but take movies of the blaze. It turns out that he was a visiting fireman from South County who came out of curiosity". Some bystanders, on the other hand, worked with the monks and the firemen to help salvage anything they could from the burning buildings.