Cobalt's Fire Chief says the town's iconic, yet vacant public school was completely destroyed by fire yesterday.
See: Cobalt Public School on fire. Major damage
"We ended actually tearing it down. We had to get an excavator in to tear it apart so we could extinguish the fire," said Chief Shawn Hearn.
Mayor George Othmer told BayToday it was "suspicious in nature."
"They had to knock it down. They were pouring hundreds of gallons of water on it and they just couldn't get it out. It was in the ceiling of a brick building "
Hearn says the fire is still under investigation by the OPP and the Ontario Fire Marshall. There is no damage estimate as Hearn is still waiting for the insurance company to get back to him but says damage is " pretty extensive."
The Chief estimates the building has been vacant for about 13 years and there have been reports of incidents at the school in the past.
"Talking to the OPP yesterday, they have had people getting into the building and whoever owns it now, was securing it every now and then to keep them out."
The building is owned by a local businessman. and there has been a lot of talk on social media about squatters living in the building.
"It's been a problematic building for us in the last few years," said Mayor Othmer. "People with problems have been getting in there and living in there. We tried boarding it up and our bylaw officer has been in contact with the building manager, actually was supposed to meet with him the morning of the fire, to get it secured again.
"But it seems every time they try and do something, people find a different way to get in there. They're squatting in there."
The Mayor said there's another downside to losing the public school --- all the squatters moving into the town's vacant high school.
"The people that were squatting there are moving to Cobalt High School. It's being taken over by them. They're moving from one spot to another. I had to send my bylaw officer there this morning to see what we can do to secure that."
Complicating the issue is that the high school is owned by an out of town, uncooperative numbered southern Ontario company.
"It's a big problem in our town. We have these absent landlords that buy things and they turn into slumlords. People are getting in there stealing copper wire and you name it, they do it. We're having a hard time getting hold of the owners, they don't seem to want to respond. They actually don't care."
Othmer says it's unfortunate the school board shut the school down in the first place.
"I'm still bitter because the school was closed several years ago, and there was no need for closing it as far as I'm concerned.
"It was such a well-built building. and it had many more years of use as a school. They shut it down because of low attendance they said, and moved the kids to another school (Haileybury Public) that was the oldest school in the area, on a busy highway with no parking. They had black mould in that building so they had to move the kids again."
Othmer says the town is sad to see the school gone.
"Thousands of children went through that building. It was a very popular school at the time It was a very good school. It has a huge schoolyard, ample parking and it was in a rural setting, not on a highway. It would have lasted another 20 years."
He adds it holds a special place in the hearts of the people of Cobalt.
"It was an icon. It was a major part of our town. It's going to hurt a lot of people to see it gone, but the town couldn't afford to take it over"
The volunteer department got the fire call at 10:10 Thursday morning.
Hearn had praise for his fellow firefighters about the way things went yesterday.
"I appreciate all the hard work the guys put in. They're working during the day and taking time off to come and assist. Also, the departments with mutual aid and a lot of the firefighters' wives and girlfriends helped out by bringing food and water to the scene. It was greatly appreciated.
"We had our own department and we had mutual aid from New Liskeard, Haileybury, and Coleman Township," said Hearn. "They all supplied manpower as well as vehicles."
Mayor Othmer echoed his chief's statement.
"We're lucky we have one of the best fire chiefs in the area and fire brigade in the area. They work diligently to do their jobs and we keep praising other workers but these guys are all volunteers and to see them at work is just amazing. They're very good at what they do. We're very proud of them."
