Ron Carter is thanking his dog Bear for saving his life.
The Thunder Bay man was walking his 11-month-old Labrador-border collie mix dog in the alley between Simpson and Hardisty Streets Tuesday around 7:30 p.m. when he heard a loud crash.
The dog stopped abruptly for a bathroom break just before walking behind the Empire Hotel and that’s when the back wall of the building collapsed.
“If it wasn’t for the dog, I wouldn’t be here,” said Carter. “He’s the saviour of the day. If he didn’t stop we’d both be under the rubble.”
Carter felt lucky his dog had stopped and immediately called his girlfriend, who then called 911, to tell her what he saw.
“I heard a big crack and the whole building kind of folded in half and then just spilled out,” he said. “A little dust came up, a whole big cloud of orange dust.”
While both Carter and Bear inhaled some of that dust, they are both OK. But Carter said Bear is a little scared to walk in the alleyway.
On Thursday, the city issued an emergency order for the demolition of the abandoned hotel, which could begin as early as the weekend.
While no one was hurt during the incident, city officials say they’re taking no chances.
“Public safety is paramount,” said Des Stolz, Thunder Bay’s chief building official. “This is an aging building that is currently presenting a number of serious public-safety issues and the city has a responsibility to ensure member of the public are not put at risk.
To further protect the public, the city has cordoned off the building and placed a security guard on site 24 hours a day to ensure no one enters the collapsed building.
Meanwhile Mayor Keith Hobbs says it's time the city look at all its vacant properties.
"I will be meeting with city manager Tim Commisso with a view to having an audit done on all old vacant buildings in the city. The collapse of the Empire Hotel is a wake-up call for us," Hobbs said, reached by email.
