N.S. community 'devastated' by loss of historic sawmill, museum

People in the Meteghan, N.S., area are mourning the loss of a historic sawmill and museum that burned down early Saturday.

Kevin Saulnier, the chief of the Meteghan Fire Department, said a call came in around 4 a.m. AT about a fire at the Bangor Sawmill Museum.

He said the building was engulfed in flames when crews arrived and his department quickly called for assistance. In total, around 85 firefighters responded to the call and 14 trucks were on site, said Saulnier.

Saulnier said people coming into the fire department this morning were grieving.

"We had a lot of people come in this morning ... and a lot of people [are] upset ... people are pretty, pretty discouraged," said Saulnier.

He said no one was injured. Saulnier said crews were able to save some of the artifacts from the museum.

An archival photo is shown of the site. (Bangor Sawmill Museum)

Saulnier said it's unclear what caused the fire.

Denise Comeau Desautels, chair of the committee that oversees the museum's operations, said the building was about to be approved as municipal and provincial heritage sites.

The cause of the fire hasn't been determined. (Félix Comeau)

"It was very, very important to the community and even to the province because we were one of the … last functioning sawmills in North America with a certain water turbine, which was called the Little Giant," she said.

Desautels said the first mill was built on the site back in 1877.

She can't see the damage in person because she's in Halifax for meetings. "All I wanna do is cry and I'm stuck here," she said.

Crews responded to the fire around 4 a.m. Saturday. (Submitted by Denise Comeau Desautels)

Dasautels said dozens of people have posted to the museum's Facebook page lamenting its loss.

"They're very devastated," she said.

No one was injured in the fire. (Submitted by Denise Comeau Desautels)

Desautels said the museum was expecting to have a busy year because of the upcoming Acadian World Congress gathering in August. She said four bus tours were booked and there were conferences and activities planned.

Adding to the loss is that work on repairing the dam at the site began in the last week. Desautels said the community had raised $50,000 in four months to help fund it.

"We still had another week to go," she said. "What's happening now, we don't know. It's too early to see what's happening."

The Meteghan RCMP said Monday the cause of the fire is still under investigation but there is no evidence to suggest it was criminal "nor connected to any past incidents in the community."

The RCMP are appealing to the public for any information related to the fire and have canvassed neighbours for any video surveillance leading up to the fire.

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