Fire officials probe ‘suspicious’ blaze at Sandy Bay church

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This article was published 15/04/2009 (6107 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

FIRE officials and police are investigating a “suspicious” blaze that caused extensive damage to the Roman Catholic church at Sandy Bay First Nation.

The fire broke out early Tuesday morning and was noticed by a school security guard, said Chief Russell Beaulieu.

“Because of the dense fog, it was late being detected,” said Beaulieu.

Structurally, the exterior of Our Lady of Guadalupe church is still intact thanks to the response from the neighbouring volunteer fire department in Amaranth, the chief said.

It seats close to 150 people, and is the only church in the community of 4,300.

The church committee was meeting with an official with the fire commissioner’s office Tuesday afternoon to talk about plans for the building, Beaulieu said.

The church was insured, said Beaulieu, who wouldn’t speculate on the cause of the blaze.

“It is suspicious at this point,” said Insp. Marc Saindon with Dakota Ojibway Police Service. “There is believed to be forced entry.”

The building is only about six years old and is built on the site of a former Catholic church that burned down, Beaulieu said. He did not recall the cause of that fire.