Staff, students and families in one Port Coquitlam, B.C., community are facing an uncertain future as school begins Monday.
Over the weekend, Hazel Trembath Elementary School was destroyed in a suspicious fire and kids will be out of class for at least a few days while teachers and the school district scramble to set up classrooms at a different facility.
A preschool, which had 56 students total, also burned in the blaze.
The facility had a mix of three- to five-year-olds in daycare and also provided pre and after-school care.
“Those classrooms have been put together over years and I miss them already,” Caitlin McNeil, the manager of Hazelwood Early Learning Centre, told Global News. “It’s going to be a long time to find the new location and make it a home again.”
The daycare operators are still looking for more permanent space. At this time, a church is a temporary location for the three- to five-year-olds and the district may have a location for the before and after-school program but that may only be for a week, they added.
The students from kindergarten to Grade 5, who attended the elementary school, will go to class at Winslow Centre, which used to be a high school before being turned into an office for the school district.
A massive fire broke out at Hazel Trembath Elementary School, which was built in the 1970s, early Saturday morning.
The Coquitlam RCMP is investigating the fire and has deemed the blaze to be suspicious. The school has been deemed a crime scene, according to the school district.
According to police, firefighters and police responded to the fire around 3:15 a.m. They found the school fully engulfed in aggressive flames.
The school was unoccupied at the time and there were no reported injuries.
School District 43 has set up a donation link on its website for anyone who wants to donate money. The city has also opened up the Port Coquitlam Community Centre for anyone who wants to donate school supplies.
Bins for donations will also be set up at Hyde Creek Recreation Centre and City Hall until Oct. 31.
Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West who attended the elementary school and has a son in Grade 1, said he has been devastated by the fire but the community response has been encouraging.
“I’m really pleased that people have been moving heaven and earth and just been working really as hard as they can to find solutions,” West said. “Really, at the end of the day, making sure people in our community are being taken care of and there is support there and we have each other’s back in the city.”
On Monday, B.C.’s Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said losing the school was a tragedy. He promised to help the City of Port Coquitlam rebuild the school.