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THEBACHA/FORT SMITH
A suspicious fire heavily damaged a building in Fort Smith's Conibear Park on Jan. 1.

A firefighter aims water at the Fort Smith Chamber of Commerce building as it burns on the evening of Jan. 1. - photo courtesy of Laurie Young

The severely damage structure is the Fort Smith Chamber of Commerce building - also known locally as the visitor information centre, even though it has not been used for that purpose for about a decade.

Firefighters responded to the blaze just after 10 p.m. on New Year's Day and brought it under control.

The log building, which is used each year on Canada Day and during the South Slave Friendship Festival, was closed for the winter at the time of the fire.

"I don't have any explanation for how the fire occurred in the building because it's a seasonal-use building and nobody had been in there for quite some time," said NWT fire marshal Stephen Moss, who is investigating the blaze in co-operation with the RCMP.

Moss said it is his understanding that no one had been in the building for several months.

"So the likelihood of something having happened in there that would cause a fire is very remote," he said.

Speaking on Jan. 4, Moss said he has heard differing information on whether or not electrical power was hooked up to the building.

"I'm trying to get a handle on that," he said. "I know that power was disconnected that shut off the street lights outside, but I don't know at this point in time whether there's actually power in the building."

The fire marshal is also yet to see reports from firefighters who responded to the scene to determine if they saw anything unusual during fire suppression activities.

There were no injuries as a result of the fire.

Even though the outside walls are still standing, Moss said the roof and the building's contents were destroyed, including tables, a barbecue, a refrigerator, a microwave oven and a woodstove.

"It's pretty total devastation inside, so it's hard to tell what all was in there," he said.

Moss - who visited the fire scene on Jan. 2 - said he will be issuing an order in a matter of days for the damaged building to be demolished.

"I would be concerned about people going in there because the floor obviously is damaged from the fire, but part of the roof is missing and part of it is still in place," he said. "It would be a hazard for people that would be entering without proper safety protection."

Brenda Black, senior administrative officer with the Town of Fort Smith, said the municipality will remove the building as soon as possible once the Fire Marshal's order is issued.

"It's too dangerous the way it is," she said.

Black said, after the order is issued, it could be a matter of weeks before the building is demolished.

The building is owned by the Fort Smith Chamber of Commerce, even though that organization is currently inactive, but it sits in the municipally-owned Conibear Park.

Black said she has contacted the last president of the chamber to sign off on the demolition once the fire marshal's order is received.

Although the burned building was informally known as the visitor information centre, the current info centre for tourists is located at the headquarters of Wood Buffalo National Park in an arrangement between the park and the Town of Fort Smith.

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