The Pas scrambles after fire heavily damages school, daycare

Hundreds of parents are now faced with no school for at least a weekafter a fire heavily damagedthe Mary Duncan School in The Pas.

Crews were called to the school around 2 a.m. Sunday.

Large plumes of smoke could be seen coming fromthe school when crews arrived.

The local fire department managed to putthe fire out and an investigation is underway, butpolicedont consider the incident suspicious.

But it's left staff scrambling to find temporary spaces for the 250 students and children in daycare.

The school building houseda daycare for 45 kids, an alternative school for Grades 5to 12 and an adult education program.

Parents like Lisa McGillivary are now feeling the stress of having tofind other child care.Her four-year-old son just started at the daycare this month.

"It's difficult," she said."Now it's finding a babysitter day to day."

That, or the full-time student at UCN must miss class.

"There's no alternate child care arrangement. Daycare was the childcare arrangement,"McGillivarysaid.

Rochelle Dyrzack's two-year-old daughter also just started, and the fire means plans in her house areon hold.

"I have been a stay-at-home mom for two years so I was very eagerto go back to work. I'm going to have to wait," she said.

But what saddens her most is the damage to the school one that sheattended when it was an elementary school. Her father was also one of the first students there after it was built.

"It's really sad, you know, to see because it's a lot of memories as achild and to see it's gone now, it's almost like thememories are gone," she said.

Considerable damage

Kelsey School Division superintendent Doug Long said the damage is considerable.

"We know that we've lost at least a couple of classrooms," he said. "You know the materials in them will be lost as well.The others with the smoke and smell, I guess we'll still determine whether or not we can salvage them."

He said at one point, crews had to pull down a wall.

"[There's a] lot of debris lying around. The fire department had to bring in a large truck with a bucket to break down the wall so they could get at and fight the fire that was up in the roof. That's been destroyed."

Long said the gym, kitchen and fitness areas survived and are intact.

Staff were meeting Monday to find an alternate site for classes.

Long said the day care may be able to move into a space in a local church.

Townspeople step up

Mayor Alan McLaughlin said the town is pulling together and people have formed an ad hoc group to collect money and supplies.

"We've got a citizens group that's put out a plea for just about anything that you can imagine," he said. "The students have lost backpacks, they've lost paper, they've lost pens, they've lost you know, just about anything that you have in schools."

McLaughlin is confident the students will soon find a new home, even if it's temporary.

"I'm sure that they're working out this plan right now," he said. "There are a number of places within the community that can be rented and used and really, the community has stepped up."

This is the second fire to plague this school. The exact same portionburned to the ground in 1970.