Image Credit: Sydney Chisholm / CFJC Today

By Dylana Kneeshaw

ORGANIZATIONS DISPLACED

User groups pivoting to other locations following fire at Kamloops United Church

Aug 14, 2024 | 5:30 PM

KAMLOOPS — One day after flames broke out inside the Kamloops United Church building, the groups who use that facility are planning where they’ll go in the meantime.

Tuesday’s (Aug. 13) fire began in the church sanctuary, and Kamloops United Church says the flames, smoke, and water caused a significant amount of damage to that space. Rev. Dr. Michael Caveney tells CFJC it’s unclear how long repairs will take, or what the cost will be outside of the insurance claim.

“We’re just hoping that we’ll be back. We don’t how long, we have no idea how long, and we have no idea the extent of the damage,” he adds.

Less than one hour after the call came in, the fire was doused by Kamloops Fire Rescue, and no injuries were reported. Caveney says there had been around 50 children in the building at the time of the fire attending a summer music program, and the nursery school, but everyone made it out safely.

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“How are we feeling? I mean today, it’s just kind of putting all of the pieces together,” notes Caveney, “We’re trying to move funerals and things like that, all these services we had. But everybody was so supportive yesterday.”

Several groups use the facility, including the church, a preschool, choirs, support groups and workshops, and the PIT Stop community meal service. The Kamloops Music Collective also operates out of the St. Paul Street location, and says in a social media post that the remainder of its summer musical theatre camp will be moving to Kelson Hall.

Caveney says KUC will try to make use of alternate spaces for services and programs, which would include part of the building the Mount Paul Community Food Centre operates out of on the city’s north shore, and the Plura Hills Church in Pacific Way.

They’re also scrambling the find a temporary location for the PIT Stop meal program.

“Our big concern is the PIT Stop program which reaches out to vulnerable people living in the downtown core of Kamloops, and we serve meals. And of course as everybody knows there has been closures of other food services for people in town, so we’ve seen a dramatic increase. On Sunday we fed over 250 people,” adds Caveney.

Caveney adds they have heard from several community members asking what can be done to help with repair work, and the church has added a donation option on its website listed under the ‘Fire Recovery 2024’ category.

Amid the mop-up operations yesterday (Aug. 13), Kamloops Fire Rescue stated the fire is not deemed to the suspicious, and the cause is believed to be electrical.