Fires that destroyed abandoned Glace Bay school, warehouse considered suspicious

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Cape Breton fires force evacuations

Former Glace Bay school destroyed by fire

Investigators believe two fires that destroyed a former school and a warehouse in Glace Bay, N.S., early Thursday are suspicious.

Fire crews responded to the former Morrison School around 7 a.m. The vacant building was destroyed and is already being demolished.

“It kind of scared me and I looked up the street and I saw Morrison School on fire,” said Margaret Campbell, who lives in the area.

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People in the Catherine Street area were evacuated from their homes as a precaution, in case the fire spread. It doesn’t appear any homes were damaged.

Fish plant warehouse destroyed

The Morrison School fire was the second major blaze in Glace Bay in just a few hours.

“There’s got to be something going on in Glace Bay,” said Campbell. “Got to be something; whatever it is, I don’t know.”

A warehouse that was part of a local fish plant was also gutted by flames in the middle of the night.

Crews responded to Ka’le Bay Seafoods around midnight. It took them about five hours to extinguish the fire. They were called to the school a short time later.

Glace Bay Volunteer Fire Chief John Chant said both fires are considered suspicious.

“Two fires within seven hours of each other in vacant buildings, I immediately turned it over to the fire marshal,” Chant told CTV News.

Residents were concerned school was a fire hazard

Residents and elected officials have said for years the old Morrison School was a fire hazard, so they weren’t surprised to see it go up in flames.

“This building has been abandoned for a long time, and since I’ve been elected it’s been the biggest concern that this would catch fire,” said Cape Breton Regional Municipality Coun. Dave MacKeigan. “I know the fire departments had a plan in place and they’ve practised it.”

“We knew it was coming,” agreed Chant. “We were able to draft out of Renwick Brook because the brook is not frozen. This would have been a totally different fire in the middle of the winter.”

Chant said police have been speaking with neighbours to see if they saw anything suspicious and asking for surveillance footage.

No one has been arrested and there is no word on a cause at this time.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Ryan MacDonald

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