BRACEBRIDGE, ON – The owner of Muskoka Timber Mills is thankful to local firefighters for their efforts.
Ric Singor spoke to the MyMuskokaNow.com newsroom following the massive blaze that caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage.
He has owned the Manitoba Street business since 1992 and he says he is not sure what the future holds.
“The fire department has been excellent, the first responders have been excellent,” said Singor. “We’re just looking at all options and trying to plan what the future is going to look like.”
He is concerned for his 55 employees and wants people to remember the fire happened to them as well.
“I just feel for my staff, and we are going to do everything we can to make it as painless for them as I possibly can,” offered Singor. “I just don’t know what those bits and pieces are for another day or two.”
He says he has no idea what caused the blaze and will await the findings of the Ontario Fire Marshall.
“I have no idea. (I will) let the fire marshall do his work and hopefully, they can help us with that,” he said.
The biggest issue for a business like Muskoka Timber Mills is the long lead time to fulfill orders.
“Basically it was logs right through to finished product,” Singor said of the product that burned.
From getting raw supply, cutting and curing wood and finally delivering custom orders is a very long process. The thousands of board feet of lumber lost in the fire is irreplaceable on a short term basis and the companies he supplies now will have to find alternatives. What that means to the long-term health of the business remains to be seen.