A popular Massachusetts wedding venue was destroyed after a three-alarm fire broke out Saturday night during a wedding reception.
About 150 guests had just witnessed a wedding at Foxboro's Lakeview Pavillion when the blaze began.
The justice of the peace, Jerry Cibley, told New England Cable News he had just pronounced the couple man and wife when he noticed smoke.
"I originally thought it was maybe a fog machine," Cibley said. "And then we smelled something which wasn't fog."
While all workers and attendants were able to exit the building safely as crews arrived on scene, the 100-year-old building is a total loss
"They tried so hard to save this building, but it was just fully engulfed," Cibley explained.
Foxboro Fire Chief Steven Bagley said the cause of the fire was the careless disposal of a cigarette into mulch.
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Dozens from the Foxboro community went to the grounds to see the building one last time.
"It's been around for so long and they actually did renovations to it years ago and it was a really beautiful place. It's very sad for a lot of people," said one Foxboro resident, Michele Landry.
"Really, I'm about ready to cry," Joan Goodwin, another resident, added. "It meant a whole lot to a lot of us."
One of the buildings owners confirmed to NECN that there were more than 200 events scheduled at the venue in the next year. While he hopes to rebuild the site someday, the venue will refund all deposits for scheduled events for now. Events scheduled over the next two weeks, including weddings, a prom and other events, have all been moved to other venues according to Lakeview pavilion management.
