Fire destroys empty Moncton riverfront building

An empty building on Moncton's downtown riverfront was heavily damaged by fire early Thursday morning.

The two-storey, red-roofed wooden structure is located on the boardwalk along the Petitcodiac River near the Running Room and Penningtons clothing store.

Charles LeBlanc,Moncton'sdeputy fire chief, said the first of several 911 calls came in at 12:57 a.m.

When firefighters arrived, the building was already engulfed in flames, said LeBlanc.

He described the damage as "quite extreme."

LeBlanc said firefighters remained on the scene until about 4 a.m. Fire investigators will return on Thursday to try to determine the "origin and cause of the fire," he said.

Because the building didn't have electricity, LeBlanc said "some sort of an ignition source had to be introduced."

It has also been the site of several previous fires, he said.

As a result, fire officials had attempted to board up windows and doors to prevent access.

"So the building was actually secured by our fire prevention division to ensure that there was no people breaking into the building," said LeBlanc. The building sat unoccupied for years, but Leblanc said it had recently been used by homeless people.

Although it's been called many things by localsthe lighthouse, the lookoutthe building has no official name, said Isabelle LeBlanc, Moncton's director of communications.

LeBlanc said it was a city-owned building constructed in the early 1990s.

"At the time, the vision was to use it as a rental space for a small business, likely with a tourism focus. As time went on, and without any water or electricity, its rental opportunities were very limited and there was no real viable option," she said.

LeBlanc said she wasn't sure "what will or could become of that space."

"An evaluation in recent years of the cost to bring in the services (water and electricity) was astronomical, and it was simply not feasible for the city to move forward with the project," she wrote in an email Thursday morning.

"Discussions around the building did surface recently as the City is working on a Riverfront Master Plan."