Fire hits Trinity United for second day in a row
KITCHENER — A shelter housing women and children had to be evacuated for the second night in a row after a neighbouring demolition site again ignited in flames.
Just before 4 a.m. Friday a security guard saw smoke coming from the front and back of the former Trinity United Church sanctuary and immediately called 911, said Rick Brooks, fire prevention officer with the Kitchener Fire Department.
“As the crews arrived on scene they could see flames in the front of the building as well as in the back — it was a lot more than (Thursday),” he said.
“This one is a little more suspicious because it seemed to grow a lot quicker than the last one did.”
Thursday’s fire, which brought fire crews to the church at the corner of Duke and Frederick streets at 1:30 a.m., is believed to have been started by homeless persons sleeping in the church and trying to stay warm. Six people were found in the building and evacuated safely.
No one was found in the building on Friday.
Fire crews evacuated the neighbouring YWCA Kitchener-Waterloo shelter for women again on Friday as a safety precaution. About 120 staff and shelter residents — including some children — had to be evacuated during both fire events.
“Honestly, the repeat of it was kind of surreal, although it wasn’t as big a deal (Friday) — the fire was not as serious and we got back in quite quickly,” said Elizabeth Clarke, CEO of the YWCA in Kitchener. “The first night we were evacuated all night.”
The shelter’s normal evacuation plan is to go to St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, but on Friday morning the church wasn’t available so the shelter residents had to use designated buses until they were allowed back into the shelter, said Clarke.
“We just used a couple last night and we got back into the shelter quite quickly,” she said.
“We’re working with the region, with housing staff now to come up …with a plan that’s maybe a little more proactive.”
The church, built in 1905, has sat empty in the downtown for more than a year. It’s now being torn down to make way for a 33-storey condo tower. In talking with the demolition company on site, Brooks said the demolition of the building will likely be sped up.
“They’re changing their plans and hopefully we’re going to be able to take down the bigger building within two to three days.”
It’s also expected there will be more security guards stationed at the site, Clarke said.