© 2018 Michael Riis-Christianson and the Lakes District Museum Society
In early winter 1958, the Catholic Diocese of Caledonia opened a new public school in Burns Lake. The facility on Third Avenue boasted six classrooms and an auditorium described as “the finest in the Interior.” For Father J.M. Bogues, who’d spent several years in Burns Lake, it was the fulfilment of a 10-year dream.
Disaster struck less than a year later. On the afternoon of July 23, 1959, Father F.J. Raynor was giving a group of visitors a tour of the new school. While in the auditorium with one of the guests, he remarked that he thought he smelled smoke, but a cursory inspection of the area revealed nothing out of the ordinary.
Raynor finished the tour, bid his guests farewell, and returned to the auditorium – only to find the bleachers on fire. He triggered the building’s alarm and called on labourers still working in the building for help.
The fire spread with startling swiftness. By the time the Burns Lake volunteer fire brigade arrived on scene, flames engulfed much of the structure. Fire fighters and local residents did their best to get the blaze under control – and did manage to salvage some items – but their efforts were hampered by area’s low water.
The building, valued at $250,000, was destroyed. Fortunately, no one died in the fire, though one worker – Andy Py – suffered from smoke inhalation and was taken to the Burns Lake Hospital for observation. Py’s co-workers, Bob Tingley and Frank Prutti, were unharmed.
Investigators were unable to determine the exact cause of the fire, although some individuals suggested it originated in a storage room behind the stage.
Bishop Fergus O’Grady and Father Bogues arrived from Prince George the following day to meet with Raynor. The three agreed to rebuild the structure, and temporary classrooms were found for the school’s 150 students.
Construction work began a month later, and by October, and the auditorium’s foundation had been poured.
Sadly, Father Raynor – who had been in Burns Lake for two years – left before the new school opened its doors on September 6, 1960.