Fire destroys Fort Simpson craft shop
Two suspicious incidents in less than a month have village on edge
Roxanna Thompson
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, May 29, 2014
LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
A second suspicious fire in less than a month has the village of Fort Simpson on edge.
Twelve members of the Fort Simpson Volunteer Fire Department responded to the blaze at the Lynx River Craft Shop in Fort Simpson during the early morning hours of May 24. - photo courtesy of Val Gendron
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"They are scared. Some of them are scared for their property and personal safety," said Mayor Sean Whelly.
The Lynx River Craft Shop on 96 Avenue and its contents were destroyed by a fire during the early morning hours of May 24. The Fort Simpson RCMP is investigating the fire as an arson with the assistance of the Office of the Fire Marshall. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
This fire came less than a month after the early morning fires April 27 that destroyed garbage bins at Bompas Elementary School, Liidlii Kue First Nation and the federal government building that houses the post office. A wooden shed behind the Northern that was used to store cardboard and garbage also burned and resulted in the destruction of a nearby warehouse and the non-perishable supplies inside of it. Those fires are considered suspicious by the RCMP and are still under investigation.
Fire Chief Roger Pilling of the Fort Simpson Volunteer Fire Department said he's very concerned about the two sets of early morning fires.
"They are going for bigger targets and higher value," he said.
The fires have progressed from dumpsters to lighting a property on fire. Normally people who start those types of fires continue to go bigger until they are caught, he said.
Twelve members of the fire department responded to the call that was received at 3:50 a.m. Saturday morning.
"It was fully engulfed, the whole front end and the roof. There were flames 20 meters in the air," said Pilling.
With the fire so fully developed the department's first priority was to protect any nearby structures to make sure the fire didn't spread. They then used three hose lines to apply water to cool the fire.
The heavy timber construction of the outside of the building coupled with the stick frame inside meant that it took a long time before the fire could be extinguished, said Pilling.
"Those logs hold so much heat once they get going," he said.
It didn't take long to control the fire, but the department wasn't done at the scene until 8 a.m., said Pilling.
The log building and its contents are owned by long-time Fort Simpson resident Peter Shaw.
The store had become more of a display area where Shaw kept birchbark baskets, beaded gauntlets, moccasins and other examples of local crafts, said Whelly.
"Some of them were museum quality," he said.
"He really had a slice of the culture and history around here."
The village will be offering Shaw help to secure and clean up the property.
"He's pretty depressed about it I would say," said Whelly.
The village is also asking for the public's assistance in helping the RCMP to solve the fires and to provide ideas of how they'd like the village to respond. A lot of people are willing and want to help, but are not sure how to. Many are also assuming that both fires were arsons and are linked, although that hasn't been proven, said Whelly.
The village council met May 26 to discuss possible actions that could be taken to dissuade further fires. Chief Minnie Letcher of Liidlii Kue First Nation and two members of the RCMP, including Sgt. Rob Gallant, were also in attendance.
The village will be following up on a number of ideas that were discussed, including checking the legality of the existing curfew bylaw for youth under the age of 16 and seeing if community members are interested in the community having a video surveillance system. Tips for securing homes and businesses may also be distributed and an outreach and education program about fires and arson may be offered to the two schools.
The idea of starting a citizens on patrol program was met with enthusiasm. Similar programs in other Canadian communities use volunteers, who receive training, to act as extra eyes and ears for the RCMP and report any suspicious behavior.
The village will be bringing this idea to the tri-council. It could help address the fires and also help with other issues including the possibility of people freezing on the streets in the winter, said Whelly.
It will take a community approach to make Fort Simpson safer, he added. The RCMP is asking anyone with information about the April 27 or May 25 fires to contact the Fort Simpson RCMP detachment or Crime Stoppers.
