'There were folks with tears in their eyes': Community saddened by the loss of Chester Playhouse in Nova Scotia
Chester Playhouse, often described as the heart of the community, went up in flames on Friday. Fire tore through the 83-year-old structure.
The damage is significant but some pre-planning helped limit the spread of the fire.
Black smoke billowing high into the air drew many people to downtown Chester late Friday afternoon.
"(The) whole front looks normal, but there was a window in the front that was smashed and the flames were coming out of there, we didn’t realize the whole back was on fire," says Chester resident Jacqueline Swinemar.
Built in 1938, the structure has transitioned from a movie house, to a puppet theatre to the current playhouse. The community calls the loss devastating.
"It’s a real hub, a real heart of this community. Being down here yesterday, there were folks with tears in their eyes, folks that had grown up seeing shows or doing theatre classes, just being part of the playhouse," says Executive Director Andrew Chandler.
The building was at the tail end of a $1.3 million dollar renovation, part of the upgrading, was the installation of a firewall that helped save adjacent buildings. Another major factor working in favour of firefighters was a template on how to combat a fire at this particular building.
"At our officer meetings, we spend a fair bit of time discussing and preplanning a specific location with another district. About two years ago, this was a place that we chose to have a pre-plan on, our water supply, what we would need for equipment, manpower and who we would call in," says Cody Stevens, deputy chief of the Chester Fire Department.
Friday, that plan of attack paid off.
"We ran five inch supply lines to the ocean, and then we put those lines in between the buildings on each corner and the aerial device is up and we just basically surrounded this entire building with water," says Stevens.
Katherine Gleason runs a craft store next door.
"The fact that they could contain it, just a huge credit to them and I think everybody is incredibly grateful," says Gleason.
Village Coun. Danielle Barkhouse says the playhouse will have the support of the community when it comes time to rebuild.
"We love the playhouse, we support the playhouse 100 per cent and it’s one of a kind," says Barkhouse.
The Chester volunteer fire department received mutual aid from 17 nearby departments.
More than 100 firefighters were on scene.
There were people inside at the time of the fire but everyone safely evacuated the building.
At this point, it is too early to know what caused the fire or even if the building is salvageable.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.