Yass hotel burns down in suspicious fire
A suspicious fire has destroyed a southern New South Wales hotel.
The Commercial Hotel on Comur Street in Yass burnt down at around 2am last night: 10 units and 30 personnel from the NSW Rural Fire Service, along with NSW and ACT fire and rescue crews were required to put the blaze out.
There was little left of the historic building after it took emergency services three hours to extinguish the flames.
Power outages affected surrounded businesses; however, no other business suffered any fire damage.
NSW police is asking anyone who may have seen anything suspicious to come forward.
The hotel has a long history but has been closed since 2005.
It was built in the 1840s as a stopover for travellers passing through.
Judith Davidson from the Yass District Historical Society told ABC News, "It served the early community of Yass as a traveller's stopover and a focal of social events in the town for some time.
"It's been left to decay for quite a long time, through a series of owners who haven't seemed to be able to actually get any kind of restoration or redevelopment going for the building," she said.
Davidson called for its replacement to maintain the colonial streetscape.
"It's going to have to be carefully monitored, we don't really want a supermarket," she said.
There were plans to renovate before the fire.
Canberra developers Andrew Turnbull and Anthony Barrie purchased the hotel in 2021, with Yass Valley Council approving the removal of the front veranda.
The owners stated they intended to retain the heritage, even though it is not heritage listed.
"The veranda will be replaced and we will take every step to ensure the building's heritage character is preserved as we prepare to reopen the hotel as a family-friendly pub," Barrie said.
"We will also retain and source older materials that will enable us to achieve this."
Jonathan Jackon, 23rd May 2023
