Shamattawa First Nation's crisis centre, public works building destroyed in 2 fires

A crisis centre and a public works building in a northern Manitoba First Nation were gutted in two fires the RCMP believe were deliberately set.

RCMP officers in Shamattawa First Nation were advised of smoke billowing from a building near the community's Northern Store shortly after 9 a.m. on Sept. 11.

The public works building was on fire, a spokesperson for the RCMP told CBC News.

No injuries were reported, but the building was a total loss.

A witness who fled the fire saw a person exiting the building, but no arrests have been made in connection with the blaze, police said.

Later, officers on patrol came across another damaged building the crisis centre had been destroyed by fire a few days earlier.

Police were told renovations were being doneinthe crisis centre, and the building was not occupied when the fire broke out.

Both fires are being investigated as arson, but so far, it is unclear whether the fires are connected, police said.

Shamattawa Chief Jordna Hill declined to comment on the fires when reached by phone this week.

Earlier this summer, a fire, believed to be accidental, engulfed Shamattawa's band office for the second time.

The community, nearly 750 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, declared a state of emergency after its band office and only grocery store burned to the ground in 2016.