This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Efforts continue to determine the cause of a fire that destroyed one of the temples under construction at the Wutai Shan Buddhist Garden near Bethany on July 24.

The fire was reported shortly before 2 p.m. and saw Kawartha Lakes firefighters from Omemee, Lindsay, Bethany, Pontypool and Janetville provide assistance to the Cavan-Monaghan fire department.

As the property is in Cavan-Monaghan, fire Chief Bill Balfour and staff have been on scene the past several days. The department is working with other agencies, however, while the Office of the Fire Marshal was contacted, it “will not be investigating the fire”, said public relations officer Sean Driscoll.

“As you can imagine, this is a large loss. It takes a while to work out and flush out the different scenarios. It’s a process of elimination. We’re not there yet, but we will be,” said Chief Balfour.

Although Chief Balfour could not specify the “scenarios” as the matter is still being investigated, he did discount rumours that the fire was caused by lightning.

He likewise does not have a final damage estimate, but based on reports from the building inspector and representatives from the Buddhist Association of Canada Cham Shan Temple, its current loss sits “north of $1.8 million.” None of the other worship halls, buildings and property were affected.

The Cham Shan Temple issued a press release following the incident expressing appreciation for the “tremendous effort” of Kawartha Lakes and Cavan-Monaghan firefighters for getting the Dizang Hall blaze “under control swiftly.”

“Unfortunately, at this moment we are waiting for the fire Chief to complete the investigation, so we cannot offer any further information,” said Diane Chen, on behalf of the Cham Shan Temple.

Notwithstanding the setback, Cham Shan Temple continues to be determined to complete the project off Ski Hill Road between Omemee and Bethany, which spans 530 acres.

The worship halls were built according to the Chinese Tang Dynasty architectural style, using wooden interlocking brackets without nails.

Chief Balfour said, while the materials used for the construction were considerably dense, it was the sheer size of the timbers and the fact it was still under construction that posed the greatest challenge for firefighters who remained on the scene for several hours.

Unfortunately, while a fire suppression system had been installed, it was not active.

“The main thing is that no one, no construction workers, firefighters or first responders were injured,” said Chief Balfour who also thanked Kawartha Lakes firefighters for their support.

A comprehensive plan for dealing with the aftermath of the fire and rebuilding the worship hall is in the works.

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com