‘It hurts me’: Prince Albert residents mourn the loss of a long-time shelter

The latest on the loss of Prince Albert's longest-running homeless shelter following a fire on Christmas Day. Jasmine Pelletier reports.

Prince Albert police say the cause of the fire that destroyed the Salvation Army building and a 35-person warming centre on Christmas Day is still under investigation.

Starting on Dec. 15, the Salvation Army building had been operating as a 35-person warming centre, although it was not occupied at the time of the fire.

Salvation Army Major Ed Dean wants people to stop making assumptions.

“We serve some of the most vulnerable people of our city, and it hurts me when I see the negative comments that they’re being blamed,” said Dean. “We don’t know that.”

The fire department says the Salvation Army building is likely a total loss.

The building had just undergone an expensive revitalization, and Dean says a complete rebuild would likely cost millions.

“We will look at space, leasing space so that we can still do our feeding programs, our warming center, everything else,” he told CTV.

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Fresh Air Experience owner Mike Horn was on scene for initial firefighting efforts.

Around 8 p.m. Dec. 25, Horn received a phone call from another downtown business that there was a fire at the Salvation Army, on the same block as his family’s store.

He and his family rushed to the scene.

“We were kind of watching from the front, keeping an eye on things and on the back of the building,” said Horn. “We were able to witness firsthand, you know, the hard work and effort that the fire department was doing to battle the blaze and contain it.”

Horn says the fire is a big loss for the downtown community.

“We’re just very, very grateful and thankful that they were able to prevent it from coming to us,” he said. “On the flip side, you know, it’s devastation, you know at the Salvation Army and, you know, all the great work that they do.”

The Salvation Army is collecting donations, and the Prince Albert Raiders collected clothing and blanket donations at their Monday night game.

A temporary warming centre is now located at the Prince Albert Grand Council Urban Services building and will operate until Jan. 2, and Tuesday morning meeting between community organizations will determine next steps.