Fire at Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples – Edmonton

Sunday afternoon August 30 a fire spread from a work room behind the sanctuary at Sacred Heart Church of the first Peoples in downtown Edmonton. The building was vacant for an hour when about 2:30 pm a passerby saw flames through the windows and called the fire department. Sacred Heart church is 107 years old and although the timber is very dry the walls are constructed of very heavy lathe and plaster which limited the lateral spread of the fire. The ceiling and an attic storage room were badly burnt but the fire investigator was relieved the next day to find that the damage was less extensive than he thought when they were fighting the fire.

Only one piece of art was lost, the first station of the cross, which was painted on the outside wall of the room where the fire started. All the sacred furnishings that have recently been acquired were all undamaged.

Nine fire trucks attended the fire including two of the large ladder trucks. More than eighty firefighters were on the scene, going into the church in relays to fight the fire and tear apart the walls in search of any hotspots. Fr. Susai and I were both present giving the fire commander information about the building. We are extremely grateful for the care that the firefighters took in moving the statues and the furnishings away from the affected area.

Archbishop Richard Smith and Fr. Susai Jesu, OMI

By five o’clock the next day the restoration company had a team removing the water from the church and the basement. The following day engineers, hygienists, fire investigators and our insurance adjuster were all scoping out the damage. We have been told that the entire building is “hot” meaning that there is asbestos and other contamination everywhere. We are not even permitted to enter the building.

There has been a huge amount of support from people across the country. Archbishop Richard Smith spent the afternoon with us during the fire and has visited us twice since then. People want to help but the nature of a large insurance claim, the safety issues and particularly the asbestos contamination means that the work is going to be largely a professional job. We have begun to ponder what new design we could bring to the church to enhance the Indigenous character of our parish.

We are grateful no one was hurt in the fire and that it was accidental. And we can’t help recognize that the fire is going to afford a restoration to our building that we could never have financed. The Exultet has been coming to mind as I tell the story again and again to others: “O felix cupla”. Thank you all for your prayers and concern.

Mark Blom, OMI