TUESDAY
S I N C E
NOVEMBER 20, 2012
1 8 9 5 Smokies
Vol. 117, Issue 217
Page 11
1
$
take two
10
INCLUDING H.S.T.
PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO
Firefighters respond to blaze at former Eagles Hall
Sunday night fire under investigation
BY TIMOTHY SCHAFER Times Staff
It’s been years since the Eagles Hall has seen heated activity on its dance floor. But on Sunday night the venerable downtown hall hosted 33 firefighters from across Greater Trail as they danced with a four-alarm fire on the second floor of the City of Trail-owned building. “Heavy fire” was showing from the second floor of the building and smoke billowed out when fire crews from Trail, Warfield, Montrose and Rossland arrived just after 8 p.m. GUY BERTRAND PHOTOS This was a sub- Firefighters responded to a fire Sunday night at the old Eagles’ building in downtown Trail. The fire broke out at 8 p.m., and stantial fire in the nearby buildings were evacuated. The fire was brought under control a few hours later. The cause of the fire is still unknown. downtown core, said Kootenay Boundary that was definitely a structures, said Derby, although he did say it building as they pre- of fire attack lines slowly Fire Rescue deputy focus of our response but patrons at the was “not suspicious in pare the structure for firefighters advanced through the demolition. regional fire chief and one of the rea- nearby Royal Theatre nature.” “They are really structure as it burned, Mayor Dieter Dan Derby, and as a sons we call out the were evacuated at the result the department number of crew we do beginning of the call Bogs said it appeared tearing the building moving up into the responded accordingly is to ensure that that until firefighters were the fire could have apart to get at all of the second floor. Derby doesn’t happen,” he able to gain control of resulted from a short asbestos,” Bogs said. said firemen had to with manpower. in the electrical wir- “Whether that created strip out drywall and the scene. “We worked hard to noted. Derby could not ing. Currently, the city an issue of a short, I panelling as they made There was ample limit the fire’s opportheir way to ensure tunity to (spread) in fire separation between comment on the has a crew removing don’t know.” Using a number they got right down the downtown, but the hall and the nearby nature of the fire, the asbestos in the
to where all of the fire was extinguished. “It’s an old building with lots of hidden spaces and just typical of an old building that is being renovated,” he said. “There is lots of overhaul required to ensure you are able to extinguish all of the fire.” The size of the building and the size of the fire necessitated the large response of firefighters, said Derby. “For a building that was unmonitored by a fire alarm system, and we were able to contain the fire to the room of origin, we felt that was a very successful fire fight,” he said. “That was attributed to being able to throw as many resources at the fire at the beginning by calling in the other companies.” The fire was not without casualties. One firefighter slipped and fell and dislocated his shoulder. He was transported to Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital and had his shoulder reset. See CITY, Page 3
Shelter offers a break from winter’s chill BY SHERI REGNIER Times Staff
The warmth of community spirit lingered in the basement of Trail’s United Church as all hands were on deck to pull out beds and finalize arrangements to open the extreme weather shelter on Monday. This is the third year that La Nina, Greater Trail’s temporary shelter, will open its doors to welcome the homeless to come in
out of the cold. This year, the Career Development Services (CDS) is partnered with the Greater Trail Community Skills Centre and the United Church to help individuals using the shelter. The CDS already has a homelessness program in place, so to direct the shelter was a natural transition. “We support a lot of the individual’s who may need to utilize the shelter,”
Waneta Plaza the
said Sheila Adcock, CDS coordinator for the La Nina Program. “We know which agencies to connect them with and we can help the person to find work, support and housing.” Adcock said that shelter is only a temporary stop, and the CDS will assist with a long-term plan. “Every morning, there will be an outreach worker who will meet with the persons, to find out and
City of Christmas
bring them to whatever community resources are needed for the day,” said Adcock. “We have the support for anyone in the community needing housing, and we can help them find it.” Kate’s Kitchen and the Selkirk College food program will donate food for the night, breakfast and a packed lunch for the day, if needed. See SHELTER, Page 3
Waneta Plaza has 30 stores and services for your Christmas gift giving
Annual Christmas Craft Fair November 22 to 25
Free kids play area with ball pit & Tarzan swing
SHERI REGNIER PHOTO
Volunteers helped prepare the extreme weather shelter on Monday.
Open 7 days a week, Thursday and Friday till 9pm
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