'It's devastation in there': Fire destroys beloved Manotick bakery

For many in Manotick, the magic of the Gingerbread Man bakery was something to look forward to during the holiday season.

As soon as you stepped inside, you could smell butter tarts and freshly made gingerbread. 

But now the smells of smoke and soot dominate, following a massive fire Friday morning at the Tighe Street shop.

Ottawa Fire Services received the call at 6 a.m. that flames were coming from the bakery's roof and side. According to the fire department, the one-storey addition at the back of a house was fully engulfed in flames.

Firefighters were able to stop the fire from spreading to the home, but the bakery was devastated, said owner Richard Palframan.

"I opened the door. I could hear the fire," said Palframan, who was in the washroom when it broke out.

"I ran down to the kitchen to try and get my phone. There was no fire in the kitchen. I ran in and singed my hair off and I ran out the front door." 

Palframan told CBC that everything from family memorabilia to kitchen equipment to food — including freshly decorated gingerbread houses — were lost.

"It's devastation in there," he said. "Everything is gone … every drawer we open, it's black soot everywhere." 

'Twenty years of busting my butt'

Palframan started the Gingerbread Man in 1988 in Toronto and moved the business to the south Ottawa community of Manotick in 2001.

These weeks before Christmas are supposed to be his busy season, he said. He and his wife Kaori had been working tirelessly to design gingerbread houses and stock the shelves with Christmas-themed cookies and baked goods — including their well-known butter tarts. 

"The next six weeks we do thousands of [gingerbread] houses and thousands of cookies, and they're all all gone. So we can't do anything for this season. It's gone. We've been working on it for eight months to get to this point." 

Palframan says they won't be open for the Christmas season, but they hope to make a comeback sometime in the next few years.

"Its just, you know, been 20 years of of busting my butt to build it up. And now it's gone." 

Hopes to rebuild

Fortunately, not all was lost: Palframan was able to save his recipe book and cookie cutters. 

He said he hopes to get started on the rebuild soon. The community has already begun pitching in, with an online fundraiser having already raised more than $16,000 as of Sunday afternoon.

"When it's time to clean up, half the village will be here to help them clean up. I know that," said Ann Baron, who lives across the street from the bakery.

Baron was in bed Friday morning when Palframan started pounding on her door, telling her to call 911.

"The flames were shooting up to the sky," she told CBC.  It was a shock for everybody." 

As of Sunday there was still no word on the cause of the fire. 

Baron said the Gingerbread Man has been a staple in the neighbourhood for decades. Throughout the weekend many residents stopped by the bakery to offer their support, which didn't surprise her.

As for Palframan, the sooner he starts rebuilding, the sooner the Gingerbread Man will be back in Manotick.

"We have to think about what kind of structure we want and what we're gonna do with this place, because it's a blank sheet now," he said. "We gotta dream a little bit."