(Written by:
A restaurant and bar in Leader have been destroyed after a fire broke out early Sunday morning.
Leader RCMP Sgt. Toogood said the call came in around 2:50 a.m., reporting a blaze at the Halftime Huddle just off Highway 21.
Witnesses described the building as “an inferno,” with flames shooting through the front windows and roof shortly after 3 a.m. Video from the scene showed the structure fully engulfed before firefighters arrived.
By noon Sunday, members of the Leader Volunteer Fire Department were still on site, tending to the smoldering remains of the building. The business is considered a total loss and has been reduced to rubble.
Sgt. Toogood credited the quick action and skill of local firefighters for containing the fire and preventing it from spreading to nearby buildings, including the 10-4 restaurant and a neighbouring home.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
