Smoke is seen billowing from the fire early Monday morning that destroyed the Flat Bay-St. Teresa’s Community Centre.
An unidentified woman driving past the scene rolled down the window of her vehicle to talk to the police officer and expressed her regret at what she saw.
The woman said Flat Bay East was a good community when she first moved there. She also said it might be time to consider moving elsewhere.
Calvin White of the Flat Bay Indian Band said the loss of the community centre meant the loss of the area’s “lifeline.” He referred to the structure as the social hub of the community.
Police said the fire, which appears to have started in the porch of the building, is suspicious. With no outside fire departments responding and the community without its own fire services, the flames quickly spread to the rest of the building.
If the fire was set deliberately, White hopes the person or persons responsible are caught and punished.
“That kind of thing is not needed in any community,” he said.
The community centre is the third building in the past decade at that same location to have burned down. White noted, however, that the previous fires were determined to have electrical causes.
There were three other suspicious fires in Flat Bay East recently. One destroyed a home and a number of vehicles in late September with a man narrowly escaping. On Oct. 19, a vehicle burned on the same property as another home that went up in flames on Oct. 26.
Flat Bay/St. Teresa’s Community Centre president Bernadine Blanchard had no comment when asked about the fire possibly being arson, but said it was a devastating loss to the community. She said all major community events took place in that building, ranging from bingo, darts, activities for youth, weddings and a place to gather after funerals.
Blanchard estimated the cost of replacing the building could be around $200,000.
With no fire department response, she said, there wasn’t much chance of saving anything.
“Any government should make sure there is fire protection in every community, no matter what the size,” Blanchard said. “A life in a small community like this is no different than a life in St. John’s.”
Voting in the recent federal and Qalipu elections was held in the building, and now an alternate space will have to be found for the provincial election on Nov. 30.
White said the community will meeting after the investigation concludes to make a decision on the next step. He said if the finances are available they will rebuild.
The building was insured.
