Burnstown Beach building destroyed by arson

BURNSTOWN – An idiot, or group of idiots, spent Saturday night (April 4) destroying a storage shed at the popular Burnstown Beach in McNab-Braeside Township.

Ontario Provincial Police and the township’s volunteer fire department were called to Burnstown Beach  for a reported shed on fire.

“Last night the building that housed the canoes, kayaks and stand-up paddleboards, which we rent out to the public, was completely destroyed. Arson. Selfish, stupid people!” wrote Coun. Heather Lang on her council Facebook page.

Vandalism at the beach and park is unfortunately, not a new thing.

“I am so utterly sick of the willful destruction of municipal property,” Lang said. “Our washroom at Red Pine Bay has been vandalized; our canteen and rowing club boathouse have been broken into, two kayaks stolen and destroyed — and now this.”

A post on the township’s Facebook page addressed the incident.

“We are disappointed and heartbroken to have to announce that our paddle equipment and rental shed at the Burnstown Beach were victim to arson last night at approximately 11 p.m.,” township staff released in a statement. “Unfortunately, it could not be saved. We want to send a very heartfelt thank you to our fire department for containing and extinguishing the fire. If anyone has any information that could assist in finding out who did this, please contact the OPP.”

Other incidents in Renfrew County over the weekend include another fire Friday evening – Greater Madawaska Fire Department was called to a fully engulfed abandoned house on Highway 132 near Dacre. Saturday evening, police and paramedics responded to an ATV rollover near Forest Lea and Doran roads in Laurentian Valley Township in which a patient was transferred to hospital with serious injuries.