It’s still not clear what sparked a fire that destroyed housing for RCMP in the community of Natuashish last weekend.
Two attached duplexes and a separate house burned to the ground Saturday morning in the northern Labrador community.
The fire broke out in one duplex shortly before 8:30 a.m., and then spread to the other buildings. In total, five separate units were lost but there were no injuries.
No one was in the first duplex where it started, but several RCMP employees next door had to be evacuated before theirs went up, too.
RCMP Cpl. Jolene Garland acknowledged past tensions and confrontations between RCMP and Innu in Natuashish, but she said there’s no evidence of that in this case.
“We can’t rule anything in or out until the investigation is concluded, so I guess all options would be on the table,” she said. “There’s nothing in the initial investigation that has pointed us toward suspicious or criminal activity, but certainly if anybody has any information that they feel would be of value, they’re asked to contact the local detachment.”
Temporary accommodations have been found in Natuashish for RCMP officers and staff displaced by the fire.
And officials have said there was no connection to wildfires burning in other parts of Labrador at the time.
Garland, meanwhile, says it’s been a trying time for members, many of whom lost personal items in the blaze.
She also thanked the community for the assistance offered to the RCMP since the fire.