Fundraising is ongoing to support people affected by a devastating fire in downtown Sackville.
The blaze destroyed Joey’s Restaurant and the apartments of four students and a university staff member that were located upstairs. No injuries were reported.
The fire began on Friday morning. Local roads were closed as firefighters fought the blaze, using water brought in water from Silver Lake in addition to municipal fire hydrants.
A newly-purchased excavator from local contractor Beal & Inch Construction was brought in to tear down the building to keep the fire from spreading.
Mount Allison said in a Facebook post that university officials were in contact with the people whose apartments were destroyed and would provide them with short-term accommodations and other necessities. The university also offered counselling on Saturday.
The university also said that about 20 students living in the area were affected.
They left their homes due to the smoke and it was unclear when they would be able to return home. The university said it was in contact with many of those students and would stay in touch to determine how it could support them.
The university set up an intake centre in the basement of the university chapel to accept donations from the community such as clothing, personal hygiene items and gift cards.
In an update on social media, the university said it had received those items and would continue to accept monetary donations to support the students. Those donations can be made by going to mta.ca/donate and selecting “Student Emergency Fire Fund” from a drop-down menu.
A sister of one of the students displaced by the fire set up a GoFundMe that had raised about $14,800 by Monday afternoon, towards a goal of $15,000.
Another GoFundMe was set up to support the owner of the neighbouring Estheva Spa for damage to equipment and supplies. That had raised $130 towards a $2,000 goal by Monday.
The Fire Marshall is investigating the cause of the fire, which began at the rear of the building, according to reporting by local journalist Bruce Wark.
Sackville Fire & Rescue received help from several fire departments, reportedly including Point de Bute, Dorchester, Memramcook and Amherst.
Part of the century-old Hanson Block is still standing but also sustained damage due to smoke, water and fire.
Live Bait Theatre, which has its office there, reported that nobody was at the location at the time of the fire. The company said it was unsure of the status of that space but would provide an update when the information is available.
