A historic church in northern New Brunswick has been destroyed by fire. Chief Luc Dugas of the Caraquet Fire Department said firefighters responded to a fire call at the church in the community of Saint-Simon at 3:30 a.m. Monday. Dugus said the fire started at the back of the church and was under control for about an hour until it spread. “There’s no brick here. Nothing at all. It’s all made of wood, and it was big,” said Dugus. The fire was put out around 8:30 a.m. and afterwards the fire marshal and the RCMP, including a dog team, began investigating. They were all still on scene at 2 p.m. according to Dugus. Dugus believes the cause of the fire is suspicious. Four other buildings were also damaged, including a community hall and a cottage. “Once it started in the roof of the church itself, I said to the other men, ‘You know, when this wall is gone inside and it goes into the varnish, the seats and everything is all made of wood with the varnish, it’s done,’ and that’s what happened,” he said. “We knew we were not going to save the place. No matter the amount of water you put, because we have the ladder (truck), we’re well equipped in Caraquet, but still. Fighting against something like that is almost impossible.” Located in the Acadian Peninsula, Dugus believes the church was over 100 years old. “It’s memories. People say, we got married here. Somebody died, we went to the basement, we had lunch there. That’s where the gathering was done. That’s just memories now,” said Dugus. Around 40 firefighters from Caraquet, Shippagan and Bertrand responded. For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
