Smoke and flame engulfed the historic Cabri Hotel and Bar last night.

The establishment had been a feature of the southwestern Saskatchewan town since 1912, but it is no more.

Cabri Fire Department Chief Lindsay Higginbotham got the call 12 minutes past 2 a.m.

Higginbotham got to the scene and immediately shut off the gas, and proceeded inside the blazing building to make sure no one was inside.

"I'm pretty sure it started in the basement," offered Higginbotham. "I went to go in, and it was pretty smoke engulfed by the [time] we got here. I went to open the door to the basement and the handle was hot. I decided it was time to get out and make sure everybody else was."

From there Higginbotham was able to work with his firefighters to help prevent the spread of the fire to other surrounding businesses. Bryan's Auto Body across the street was singed during the blaze and had a window blow out from the extreme heat. Higginbotham and his men reacted swiftly, dousing the building with water to stop the fire from being able to consume another livelihood. Luckily, the damage is largely superficial and the structure was not engulfed as well.

On scene this morning was Cabri Mayor, David Gossard, who offered some insight into what had happened, and how this affects the town.

"This was the local gathering point and watering hole," affirmed Gossard. "It was where we came to watch the football games and hockey games."

Gossard talked about how it was where American hunters would stay in town during the hunting season, and that the younger people in town had taken to calling it the 'living room' due to how often they would hang out there.

"It's sad," Gossard admitted. "The worst part is we know you can't replace a place like this now."

With the last two years severely affecting the hotel and bar industry as a whole, this was a year that the hotel had hoped to see a return to business as normal. Sadly, after 110 years, business is closed for good.

The building was three stories, with a bar and lounge. Residents had come out to share how many memories had been made there, how many family histories had been entwined with nights out at the bar, and how dearly it will be missed.

"I don't know what we do," Gossard admitted. "I don't know if we'll ever have a local pub again."

While many of the town's inhabitants were reeling from this horrible event, the hardest hit by this was the business owner, Wendy Johnson.

For 21 years she has been the proprietor and owner of the venue.

"It's a terrible loss for the community," shared a heartbroken Johnson. "A terrible loss for everyone."

Johnson was still in shock from the fire, and was beside herself with grief over the loss, but was relieved that nobody had been hurt during the fire.