Downtown Bathurst fire still under investigation

The Office of the Fire Marshall is still investigating the major fire in Bathurst Friday night that destroyed two business and damaged two nearby structures.

Mayor Stephen Brunet said it had left a hole in the heart of downtown.

The mayor has his own suspicions, especially after an abandoned building down the street on King Avenue caught on fire a week before.

"There was nothing in that one, so we think it had to be set on fire, now this one here," he said.

Firefighters were first called to the blaze at Main Street and King Avenue around midnight Friday. Brunet said it was just hours after the city's Santa Claus parade.

Bathurstis a pretty strong city and I'm sure we will move forward.- Stephen Brunet, Bathurst mayor

"We had such a happy evening the evening before, and I got a call from the police chief around two and headed downtown, and I just couldn't believe what I was looking at," Brunet toldInformation Morning Moncton.

The flames demolished buildings that housed Birds Eye View pet store and Au Cafe Gourmet. Brunet said it was a busy and successful corner with stone-front buildings and a fairly new wine bar.

"Every buildingwas part of the history of downtown and there for many, many years," he said.
"It's going to be a big hole in downtown."

Chris Roy was out of town when he heard about the fire. He lived above Au Cafe Gourmet, a popular downtown restaurant.

"I got called in the morning telling me, saying that your apartment is burning down," Roy said. "I got up and drove straight down from Moncton."

There were three apartments hisbuilding, andall were destroyed,displacing five people.

Roy arrived back to a community already geared up to offer assistance.

"People are really helping right now like crazy," he said. "I never expected it to be like this ever. So many people are helping."

Prominent office space wasalso destroyed, and people who live in apartments above the stores have lost everything.

Brunet saidnot much can be saved, explaining that if parts of the building weren't burned, they suffered severe smoke and water damage.

He said it was a difficult time of the year to face such a disaster, especially for the 50 people who were displaced from their apartments above the businesses.

"That's really tough and there's a lot of people who lost their apartments upstairs. I really feel for them. They lost everything," Brunet said.

Brunet said the local high school had a Christmas concert on Saturday evening and took up a collection to help the displaced residents. The local Walmart store is also taking up a collection to help a worker who lost everything.

"People are joining together to try and help these people," he said.

'Downtown is not finished'

Brunet said for now, the city is looking at the positive.

"Downtown is not finished by any meansand this now will be a corner that I'm sure people will look at for development, but everything will have to happen in time."

He is also thankful for the new ladder truck that was used to fight the fire from above.

"When something like this happens, you know, we had no loss of life, we had no firemen hurt and that is the ultimate end that we strive to go toward," he said.

"Bathurstis a pretty strong city and I'm sure we will move forward."

One of the businesses, Bird's Eye View pet store, is already close to re-opening.

Owner Claude Tremblay posted to Facebook that he's moving across the street from the old location.

The store could be open as early as Tuesday.