Residents of the Labrador Inn in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, N.L., are without shelter after the hotel caught fire Wednesday morning.
Brad Butler, the town’s fire chief, said he got a call early in the morning about smoke behind the inn’s kitchen.
He said when crews arrived at the inn, they found smoke there, in a bathroom and in the basement.
The fire didn’t reach the rooms, and all residents are accounted for and looked after by Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services, said Butler.
The inn sustained fire, smoke and water damage after Wednesday’s fire, he added, noting that crews had to pull down the walls to access and extinguish the fire.
“We’ve contained it there now, but they’re just doing some overhaul,” said Butler.
After completing an investigation of the property, the RCMP found nothing suspicious, spokesperson Cpl. Jolene Garland told CBC News Wednesday evening.
The inn is now back in the hands of management, who have successfully turned the power back on.
The kitchen is now being cleaned and they’re dealing with a water break underneath, said inn manager Bill Dormody in a message to CBC. They’re hoping to have people back in with service as usual by tomorrow evening.
“The fire department did an exceptional job on containing damage, could have been far worse,” said Dormody.
Residents in limbo
The Labrador Inn has been handling overflow from Nunatsiavut government housing hub emergency shelter since 2020, and has been routinely filled, sometimes over capacity.
Currently, there are 22 people living in the inn as part of that overflow, said Krystal Saunders, the housing support services manager with Nunatsiavut government.
“It was unfortunate that it happened at all, but also on the coldest day we’ve had so far this year,” said Saunders.
She said they were lucky that Nunatsiavut government transportation vehicles were able to change route and quickly pick up evacuated residents.
Some residents chose to stay with friends or family, and others are staying at the Salvation Army, which is also providing them with food and drinks.
The Salvation Army “will be our home base while we figure out when we can get them back,” said Saunders.
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