SaskatchewanThe fire that destroyed the Halftime Huddle restaurant and sports bar in Leader on Sunday was “suspicious in nature,” according to RCMP. They’re asking the public for help in the investigation.Leader RCMP say fire was ‘suspicious in nature’Chris Edwards · CBC News · Posted: Oct 30, 2025 3:54 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesPolice are investigating after a fire destroyed the Halfway Huddle restaurant and sports bar in Leader, Sask., on Sunday. (Submitted by Aaron Wenzel)Police are investigating after a sports bar in Leader, Sask., burned down.Around 2:40 a.m. Sunday, Leader RCMP say they received a report of a fire at the Halftime Huddle restaurant and sports bar. By the time firefighters put out the blaze, the building had been burned to the ground. Leader is about 240 kilometres southwest of Saskatoon.“It was devastating,” said Rajinder Basran, the owner of the bar. “My family, my wife, me and our kids, we spent a big part of our life to build that, and it was all done from scratch.”Basran said he was out of town when he heard about the fire, and rushed back after someone sent him a video of the blaze.”I couldn’t be more proud of the first responders in town, especially the fire department and the police,” said Leader Mayor Aaron Wenzel, who said his aunt lives in an adjacent house. “The fire department did some excellent work. If it wasn’t for their efforts, we likely would have lost the two neighbouring buildings.” Wenzel said the fire will be a loss to the community, in light of how expensive rebuilding efforts can be.On Wednesday, after an investigation by the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency and fire investigators, police said the fire was “suspicious in nature.” The RCMP now is asking for the public’s help to gather more information.“Officers will continue to investigate the fire and ask that members of the public report information about any suspicious people or vehicles they observed in and around Leader during the early morning hours of Oct. 26,” RCMP said in a statement.Basran said he’s worried about the safety of his family and his other businesses after watching security camera footage of the fire.“I don’t know what’s the motive behind it,” Basran said.He said the days since the fire have been “really hard and frightening.”Halftime Huddle is one of four businesses Basran owns in Leader. He said he also owns the local Esso station, along with the Motel 21 and Leader Motel. “I will come out of this,” he said. “The safety of my family, the safety of the people who work around me, that’s most important right now.”RCMP say people can report information about the fire by dialing 310-RCMP, or making an anonymous report to Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or www.saskcrimestoppers.com.ABOUT THE AUTHORChris Edwards is a reporter at CBC Saskatchewan. Before entering journalism, he worked in the tech industry.
‘It was devastating’: Sports bar in Leader, Sask., destroyed by fire
