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Historic pub to be rebuilt Friday, 12 November 2004 WALCHA Rd Hotel owner Susanne Long has vowed to rebuild after fire destroyed three-quarters of the historic watering hole with the rest of the building suffering extensive smoke and water damage on Wednesday. Sifting through the charred remains of what was left of the 144-year-old pub, Ms Long remained positive despite not knowing the extent of the damage caused to the building's structure in the inferno. Nine RFS appliances, one NSW Fire Brigade appliance and two bulk water carriers battled for two hours to extinguish the fire and stop it from taking hold of the rest of the building. Three-quarters of the historic pub was destroyed when fire broke out in the kitchen area shortly after 1am with the rest of the building extensively damaged. Ms Long, who was in Queensland at the time of the fire, said the extent of the damage wouldn't be known until engineers inspected the building next week, but at this stage, she estimated damage to be in the vicinity of $300,000. "There's no doubt in my mind we'll rebuild," Ms Long said. "It's just so devastating to see the hotel like this. It's unrecognisable. The items that weren't completely destroyed in the fire have either been damaged by smoke or water. "We were really lucky the dining room, function room and one bedroom at the southern end of the building only suffered minor smoke damage." She said the brick wall at the far northern end of the hotel was left exposed during the fire and may be of some concern. Armidale Dumaresq RFS inspector Trevor Lyons said the fire was believed to have started in the kitchen area of the building, however the exact cause may not be known for some days. "We've not been able to get in to some parts of the building because they are not safe. Once we are able to, we will know for sure what was lost in the fire," Ms Long said. "I'd like to thank wonderful Walcha and surrounding communities for their support during this difficult time."


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