On Thursday October 29, at 1:45 a.m. Fire crews from Severn Township were called to a structure fire at Stanton Bros General Supplies located at 1547 Port Stanton Pky, Severn Bridge known as Martin General Store.
An employee at the Bayview Wildwood Resort spotted the fire and called 9-1-1.
When crews arrived, part of the building had already collapsed. Five people escaped a cottage next door and they are lucky they escaped when they did, but the cottage was destroyed. Fifteen fire-fighters battled the blaze at the height of the fire with equipment from three stations.
The building is over 100 years old and has not been operating for a few years according to residents in the area.
A statement on the Cottagers of the Severn River Unite Facebook page said: “It’s been a sad day at Port Stanton. Built in 1905, the year before the railway was completed in 1906. This was a bustling place up until about 20 years ago. Not known what the cause is yet but believed to have started sometime after midnight.
So many great childhood memories at this place.”
There is no word on a damage estimate. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
