Salvation Army Major says ministry will continue, building was empty at time of fire

The West Flat Community group had prepared and served a Christmas meal between one and four p.m. that day and saw nothing off.

“Everything seemed to be good until about 8 o’clock when we got the call that our building had fire in it,” he said.

There was a gap between when the meal was done at 4 pm and the opening time of the warming centre at 10 pm.

No one was on site when the fire started, and the building was empty.

While walls remain standing, nothing inside the building seems to be salvageable. That did not deter the wider community who quickly came up with a solution for the warming centre portion of the Salvation Army’s services.

Within hours a temporary solution had been found.

A meeting was called and attended by multiple local agencies and governments with the result being the Prince Albert Grand Council opening up their Urban Services building downtown as a temporary location until January 2.

“We have arranged for meals for today and our community meal that we would normally do that will continue on over the urban services as well our own staff will start back tonight running the warming center,” said Dean.

Normally between 60 to 100 people access the warming centre overnight but with the change of location, Dean is not sure how many people will attend the Urban Services building. People are asked to share the changed information as much as possible.

Dean said he is disappointed by online comments that have pointed blame when the cause of the fire has not been determined.

“There’s been some very hurtful comments put on Facebook about those that we serve and the finger pointing and stuff like that. That’s not fair to them. Until the investigation is complete, comments like that are not needed or even at any time,” he said.

The people that rely on the warming centre or other social services are still community members and he would like to see an end to public blaming.

“These are residents of our community, our neighbors and nobody needs finger pointing at this point in time,” he said. “They need care because that is their community too, that they’ve lost a lot of services from – temporarily.”

“But we are going to continue. If people are trying to reach us, they can call the office number at 306-763-6078, extension 0, and it goes directly to our cell number.”

An update by the Prince Albert Fire Department said they were called to the scene at 7:55 pm, two hours before the doors would have re-opened for warming services.

“On arrival, fire crews initiated an interior attack on the fire, however, due to heavy smoke and fire conditions throughout the building, as well as early fire breach of the roof above the fire fighters, a defensive approach was initiated.

Fire crews were successful in limiting the spread of the fire and damage to the adjoining structures,” said the department.

The building sustained heavy damage, however, and is expected to be a total loss. The roof collapsed almost across the entire building and exterior walls are at risk of collapse.

“It is extremely important for any persons attending the scene to keep a safe distance,” the department said.

Police are monitoring the location and fire fighters will be there to keep an eye out for hot spots and flare ups.

According to a statement released Friday afternoon by the Prince Albert Police Service, they continue to assist the Prince Albert Fire Department and partner agencies.

“The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Due to the extent of the damage, investigators were limited in their ability to enter the structure, and specialized methods were required to assess the scene.”

Members of the public are advised that Central Avenue will be subject to traffic and access restrictions as part of ongoing safety and scene containment measures.

Central Avenue is restricted to one lane of travel between 10th Street East and 9th Street East.

A secured metal fence is being installed around the affected property and will restrict access to adjacent businesses within that block.

City crews will be conducting grading and sanding operations prior to any further roadway reopening.

These restrictions are expected to remain in place, with possible adjustments next week as conditions allow.

–susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

by Susan McNeil

Salvation Army Major says ministry will continue, building was empty at time of fire

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