‘Now they have to rebuild’: Century-old church hall in Digby destroyed by fire

A church hall in Digby, N.S., has been destroyed and the church attached to it damaged in an early morning fire on Monday.

Video of the fire posted on social media shows the church hall beside Grace United Church on Prince William Street completely engulfed in flames.

Digby Mayor Ben Cleveland says the fire was contained to the hall, where a fundraiser was just held the day before.

“The church hall is destroyed,” Cleveland said from the scene of the fire. “They’re currently taking it down with an excavator.”

“It did some damage to the main church,” he added, saying firefighters were able to get the flames under control and minimize the spread of the fire. “They saved the main sanctuary, which is great.”

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The church hall that burned down was built in around 1890, while the church itself was constructed in the 1840s.

“It’s an old building. Very well maintained,” said Cleveland. “Over the last few months they’ve been having musical events to help raise money to pay for a new roof, which they just completed.

“It’s sad. Now they have to rebuild.”

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There’s currently no word on what caused the fire, but Cleveland says it’s believed it started in the interior.