The investigation into the cause of the fire at the Southeast Regional Correctional Centre in Shediac is still under investigation, but the damage to the facility can be clearly seen on the rooftop.
“The entire right-hand side on the third floor is completely destroyed and then there is damage on the second floor as well,” said Capt. Julien Boudreau of the Shediac Fire Department.
Boudreau says it’s what you can’t see from the outside that caused the most destruction. Water from the firefight filtered down and flooded out every floor of the building, including the high-tech security system and the cells where prisoners are normally held.
“They cleaned up all the water but now they have to look at the electrical systems and inside the walls and all of that so there is quite a bit of work to be done,” said Boudreau.
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Former firefighter and mayor of Shediac, Jacques LeBlanc, is praising the efforts of his firefighters, most of whom were volunteers.
“They did a lot of heroic work there yesterday,” he said. “I can just imagine that the building is in dire straights right now.”
But given that it may take many months to repair the high-tech facility, he’s concerned about what kind of impact the shutdown may have on residents and the local economy.
“There are citizens who are employed there and they definitely have an interchange with the community as far as the local business community,” said LeBlanc.
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The province has confirmed that the inmates have already been moved to other provincial jails.
But questions remain over what will happen to the 107 correctional officers working at the facility if it is indeed shut down for months.
Michael Davidson, the head of the local union representing the correctional officers said many of the officers scheduled to work on Thursday were transported earlier in the morning to work at the other jails in the province where inmates are now being held.
“Beyond today, we don’t know and that is what we are trying to get confirmation on, what is going to be the long-term plan,” said Davidson.
Davidson is concerned that casual employees may not have steady employment until the jail reopens and that some employees may have been relocated to other parts of the province on a longer-term basis.
He hopes to meet with the Department of Public Safety soon to get a better idea of the future of the facility.
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