Fire destroys school on Blueberry River First Nation north of Fort St. John
CBC
A fire tore through a school on Blueberry River First Nation north of Fort St. John early Saturday morning, destroying a building that has served the northeastern B.C. community for decades.
Fort St. John RCMP say they responded to a report of a school fire at around 6:30 a.m. on Jan. 17.
Police and firefighters arrived to find the building fully engulfed in flames, according to an RCMP media release.
No injuries have been reported.
RCMP say there is no indication at this time that the fire was suspicious, but the cause has not yet been determined.
In a statement, Blueberry River First Nation leadership said the Blueberry Community School building hosted a wide range of activities, including gatherings, funerals, adult education programs and cultural events.
“This is a tremendous loss for the community, and we will be rebuilding as soon as possible,” the statement read.
According to the council, the fire broke out quickly, adding that the community’s firefighting capacity was not sufficient to battle a fire of that size because of limited reservoir capacity.
The First Nation is located roughly 80 kilometres northwest of Fort St. John and lies outside the Peace River Regional District’s fire protection zones.
“Due to the lack of water, the building could not be saved,” the council said. “We would like to state that Blueberry River has no agreement with the City of Fort St John for firefighting due to the distance.”
The First Nation said it will not speculate on the cause of the fire but added it has high-definition video footage of the moment the fire began.
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