A New Brunswick community is still reeling following a holiday fire at a food bank Sunday night, which appears to have been deliberately set.

A joint investigation between the New Brunswick fire marshal and the RCMP is underway.

“We are investigating this fire with the same police investigation techniques as if it was deemed an arson,” says Cpl. Philippe Cyr of the RCMP.

Vicky Crossman manages the Petitcodiac food bank, called SPOT, which stands for Support People Of Today. She says she got the call while coming back from her Thanksgiving dinner in Fredericton.     

“Got a phone call that our new SPOT building was on fire,” says Crossman. “It was complete devastation. In fact, my Thanksgiving dinner came up.”

A lot was lost in the fire, thousands of dollars in food, hundreds of volunteer hours and clothes, which would have been sold to buy more food.

Crossman says the response from the public has been overwhelming. A steady stream of people dropped off food Tuesday, to replace what was lost.

“In a rural area, we all stick together anyway and usually try to help people,” says Mayor Jerry Gogan.

Fire Chief Gerald Jones says it is not the first time the community has stepped up in this way.

“Twenty years ago this month, when Stedmans burned, we had the same response and this village ties together and they will come out of it and we will be better in the end,” says Jones.

If the fire was deliberately set, it has left many wondering how someone could do such a thing to a place that helps people in their time of need.

“I have known people that have been burned out and because of that, SPOT has been the first response, there with clothes, food, whatever they needed,” says resident Pamela Cameron.

Crossman says something beautiful has come out of this tragedy, the community’s response.

“When you see how many people came out to just volunteer, to wash a wall, or to clean a bathroom, or whatever and to re-stock our shelves, it makes you feel a lot better, there is hope that there is good in a lot of people,” says Crossman.

With files from CTV Atlantic's David Bell