Owners of Pine Manor assess damages to family mansion
October 25, 2019
Inspectors were on the scene of Pine Manor in Carbondale today to assess the damage from the fire that occurred on Monday.
On Oct. 22, around 6 p.m. the City of Carbondale Fire Department responded to a report of smoke and fire coming from Pine Manor, according to a news release from Carbondale Fire Department.
The inspectors said about 70% of the building was damaged.
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It is still unknown what caused the fire, but inspectors said the fire started in the attic.
Pine Manor is a mansion that is also a Bed and Breakfast, training center and wedding venue.
The mansion was originally built in 1970 by a different family, then sat vacant until the Gibson family bought it in 1997.
Owners Wesley “Wes” Gibson and his wife, Linda, said the fire totaled the entire complex.
“We obviously were deeply saddened,” Wesley said. “This was a wonderful place for family and friends that have used it. We’ve literally had dozens and dozens of weddings here.”
Pine Manor generally hosts about 15 to 20 weddings per year. Wesley said there is a wedding scheduled at Pine Manor this weekend.
“We moved the young couple to another mansion we own on the back side [Oak Manor] free of charge,” Wesley said.
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Wesley said he was invested in Pine Manor for 20 years, and he put so much into the project. He said this mansion has been in their family for a long time.
“This is our family’s gathering spot for [the] holidays,” Wesley said. “Every one of my nieces, nephews, brothers, even my father have all been married at this facility.”
Wesley said many of their belongings that were worth millions of dollars were lost in the fire.
“This house is full of antiques from across the world,” Wesley said. “We are going to try to start recovering those on Monday.”
Linda said she is trying to focus on the positive things in regards to the fire damage.
“I am trying to focus on the things that weren’t damaged,” Linda said. “I am also glad that no one was hurt in the fire.”
Wesley said they are going to rebuild, but they will have to start from scratch. This is a process they said they believe will take years.
Wesley said everyone who is working at the facility still have their jobs and will be moved to the other mansion through the winter.
The Gibsons said they want to thank the Carbondale Fire Department for responding to the fire so quickly.
Staff reporter Bethany Rentfro can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @BethanyRentfro.
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