Bob McGinn and his brother Kenny McGinn came back to their childhood home on Wednesday to find it damaged by fire, smoke and water.
The former armories building caught fire Tuesday evening. McGinn’s father, a veteran, was a caretaker for the armories at 11 Carleton St., where he and his family lived.
“It was home and it was incredible place to live,” Bob McGinn said in an interview Wednesday. “Sad. I talked to my sister last night and my brother and it’s just like a punch in the gut.”
He fondly recalls fun nights downtown – at a time when the uptown core didn’t exist.
The two brothers said they were devastated to see the state of the building Wednesday morning, describing it as the same feeling as losing a loved one.
“It’s a really sad event,” Bob said. “I saw it on TV last night and I almost started to cry.”
They recall where their bedrooms were, with now-shattered windows, and smoke and fire damage.
“The room there, that was Cheryl’s, and then mine was the centre sometimes, and you were the far right, but it switched around sometimes,” said Kenny.
“Mom and Dad lived at the back and you say it’s pretty well destroyed,” said Bob.
The McGinns vow to ask to at least claim the front door to have one keepsake of the building if it needs to be torn down.
“I hope they don’t demolish it,” Bob said.
The Fredericton Fire Department said it received the call around 4 p.m. and crews arrived to heavy fire on the outside of the home. Firefighters were able to knock down that part of the blaze.
“Eventually it worked its way to the attic and the crews were eventually pulled out just due to the danger to them,” assistant deputy fire chief David McKinley said.
He said it is possible the building could be saved.
“It’s hard to say. The building is over 150 years old, it’s built with heavy timber construction so those buildings are more resilient than the lightweight construction of modern buildings,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
The file has been turned over to the Fredericton Police Force, but McKinley wouldn’t confirm what led officials to think the case needed to be handed over.
Police did issue a post on X, formerly Twitter, three hours after the crews were called to the blaze, asking the public to identify a person of interest in an active file, who was standing at the back of the building on fire.
“At 10:45 this morning the file was turned over to the Fredericton Police Force,” police Chief Martin Gaudet said. “The fire is deemed suspicious so the investigation has been turned over to us and off we go.”
Anyone with information is asked to call the Fredericton Police Force at 506-460-2300, email daniel.johnston@fredericton.ca or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 to remain anonymous.
— with files from Silas Brown
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