PAYS PLAT FIRST NATION — A fire that caused significant damage at the community health centre's family well-being program room is believed to be the result of arson.
The Schreiber Fire Department responded Monday to a call for service at the Pays Plat First Nation Business Complex after staff from Fertengigers Gas Variety discovered the fire.
Schreiber Fire Chief Jan Morrison has deemed the cause of the fire was deemed to be arson.
“We're calling it arson because there was a window broken into the room in question, and going around the room, it was clear that somebody had tried to light various things on fire,” said Morrison.
He said the majority of the fire was contained in the couches in the centre of the room, which made the blaze easy to extinguish, but the heat, smoke, and ash damaged everything inside the room.
Morrison has passed his assessment of the fire onto the Ontario Provincial Police, which has opened an investigation.
It will take some time before the youth drop-in program is operational as the First Nations waits on a restoration company and an insurance adjuster to assess the damages.
With the end of the school year being a few days away, Morrison stated that “hopefully, they can get it back on its feet quickly this summer.”
