THEBACHA/FORT SMITH
A sleeping cabin for students burned to the ground during an on-the-land excursion held by Fort Smith's Paul William Kaeser High School.
No one was injured in the March 13 incident at Piers Lake, northeast of Fort Smith.
Speaking on March 21, school principal Al Karasiuk said the cause of the fire had still not been determined.
"We're still trying to figure it out, to be honest," he said.
Karasiuk said six Grade 6 boys who were using the cabin, which was heated by a wood stove, had gone to the cook cabin to play cards and have a snack in the evening.
"Then they saw the sleeping cabin was on fire," he said. "So absolutely no one was in the building at the time and no one was hurt, thank God."
Along with the cabin, the fire burned sleeping bags, clothes, snowshoes, winter boots and snowmobile helmets.
"When push comes to shove, you can always buy a new sleeping bag and this and that. That's just material items," Karasiuk said. "Everyone was safe and no one was hurt. That was the big, important thing."
The five-day wilderness camp for 14 boys and girls in Grade 6 had begun on March 11 and was due to end on March 15. Also at the camp were two teacher supervisors, an elder guide and a parent.
Karasiuk said the incident will cause a review of the school's on-the-land activities.
"I hope it doesn't curtail it, but I mean any time you have a negative experience such as this was hopefully you can learn and improve procedures in the future," he said.
The school's goal is to provide an authentic on-the-land experience, the principal said. "But we certainly want to put the safety of our students first."
The incident was a shock for the school. "It wasn't just a small event. I mean the cabin burnt to the ground," Karasiuk said.
Karasiuk said after the fire happened, the students got on a satellite phone to let their families know that everyone was OK. A plane was chartered by the school the next day for the six boys, who stayed in other cabins the night their own cabin was destroyed. Replacement jackets were also flown in for them.
"Then we flew them back (to Fort Smith) and the rest of the camp packed up and came back that evening," Karasiuk said.
The cabin, which was wooden with a metal roof, was built by the school, which has teamed up with the elder who leases the land to offer the wilderness camp for a number of years.
The school has several cabins at the site.
The wilderness camp is designed to give students a cultural experience through activities such as snowmobiling, fishing and trapping.
