LA SCIE, N.L. — The last couple of days have been a blur for La Scie Mayor Kimberley Morey.
On Saturday, the municipal building in the community was gutted as fire ripped through the interior of the building. Morey’s phone has been ringing ever since.
“It's been like Open Line,” Morey said of the number of times she has answered the phone since Saturday morning, when the blaze started.
The mayor’s schedule has been just as hectic. She was out of town when the fire started, but returned Saturday night for an emergency council meeting.
Morey and the town council met again Sunday to hammer out more transition plans, as the building suffered extensive damage in the fire. They were scheduled to meet again Monday evening.
Firefighters with the town got help from their colleagues in nearby Baie Verte and Nippard’s Harbour, and ensured the fire didn’t threaten any of the surrounding houses.
“There was no one inside the building at the time and no one got hurt,” said Morey.
For the town, there is still a lot to figure out.
It was not just the town hall and municipal services affected by the fire. The building also housed the town’s fire department, its ambulance service, the local branch of the family resource centre and La Scie’s library.
For the time being, the town’s council chambers and municipal services will be housed in the Cape Saint John Arena.
The town also had to come up with a place to store the firefighting equipment and the fire department’s vehicles. One fire-response vehicle is being stored at the town’s municipal depot, while another is being kept at a local garage. The bunker gear is being kept at the local marine centre.
Morey said the hope is the town will be able to build onto the municipal depot to keep everything together.
On Monday via Facebook, the La Scie Public Library announced library services were being suspended as a result of the damage the building sustained during the fire. There has been no decision on when services will resume.
The post encouraged people to visit the Baie Verte Public Library, and Baie Verte’s books-by-mail service is being extended to residents in La Scie.
The town’s family resource centre was a satellite office for the Baie Verte Peninsula Family Resource Centre. It served several communities in the La Scie region, and the shutdown affects 25 to 30 families.
Plans have not yet been made, because people with the centre in Baie Verte haven’t been given clearance to enter their part of the building.
“We’re waiting to get the go-ahead to see the extent of the damages to the centre,” said Kim Penney, an administrative assistant with the Baie Verte Peninsula Family Resource Centre.
Provincial and federal officials are expected to meet with the council sometime this week.
There is some hope the town may be able to save some of the building.
“We are very fortunate that there is something to salvage,” said Morey.
Nicholas Mercer is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter covering central Newfoundland for SaltWire Network.