A $3.2 million dollar investment in St. Paul student housing may have gone up in smoke, after a devastating fire wreaked havoc on the brand-new construction early on Thursday morning, according to Portage College spokesperson Leona Geller.
“A Canada Post employee saw the fire and reported it at 3:30 a.m., and the facilities crew was notified at 5:30 in the morning," she said. The electricity in the building was cut off, likely as a result of the fire, triggering facilities staff to the fact something was wrong, she said. Six hours after the fire was reported, it was still smoldering, with fire crews on scene mopping up the damage. “We have closed the campus for the day," she said, adding that the campus will likely reopen for Friday.
Geller said the college's facilities manager had gone inside the building shortly after the fire and estimated that there was 80 to 90 per cent damage to the building that was undergoing construction. The new student housing complex was intended to be open for student use in September.
She speculated that with the extent of the damage, the structure may have to be bulldozed, but said that the college will have to wait to find out more about what the fire has done. “Once we know the extent of the damage, we'll have a look at what we're going to do to, in terms of the best course of action in mind of the students that would have lived there."
While noting the fire and extent of damage was tragic, Geller said Portage College staff are thankful that no one was in the building at the time. “We're just very grateful that there's no injuries."
