Crews battle the High Street Fire March 13, 2014

A downtown fire destroyed places of business, displaced residents and stole headlines in March.  And it's our number 1 story of the year.

The Jubilee Block at the corner of 1st and High Street West was destroyed after a fire began after 10pm on March 13.  Ron Desrochers and his wife Della own the property. They were devastated when they got the news.

"We got a phone call about 10:20, we got down there around 10:30," explained Desrochers. "We were more interested to know that all the tenants upstairs got out. Apparently everyone is safe, the building itself is replaceable, in time I guess. God bless that everybody got out," he added.

Other than the building, a lot of history went up in flames last night. Ron says there were generations of family photos inside Sooters Studio that can never be replaced.

Firefighters believe the blaze started above Kergano's Restaurant and spread to the rest of the building, destroying Vintage Vibe, Scrubs and Sooter's Studio.  Crews were able to stop the fire at Sooters, saving businesses to the east, however the rest of the zero block did suffer smoke damage and some water damage.

Despite all the heartache today, there was a moment of joy the following morning.  Firefighters were going through the rubble, looking for hot spots, when they took the time to try and make one person's day a little brighter.

Dina Hubbard was there watching the walls get pushed in. Her parents own Vintage Vibe, a store destroyed by the fire and known for the colourful mannequins in the window.

"I asked them that since the mannequins were still standing out of everything, if they could please go in and get some mannequins, and they brought them," said Hubbard.

Several mannequins, a rocking horse in the shape of a rooster, and some vintage hats were pulled from the burnt out building just minutes before the ceiling caved in, burying the spot where the mannequins were standing.

The devastating fire claimed more that just businesses. 22 people were left without a home in the process. That's where the Red Cross and the Salvation Army stepped in, providing cash, clothing and accomodations while those people sought new places to call home.

Fire crews have yet to identify a single cause of the blaze.  The site was cleaned up and filled in a few months ago. 

Discover Moose Jaw's Chris Rasmussen was at the scene of the fire -