'Wish I had a genie': Milltown-Head of Bay d'Espoir sisters worry about learning after school fire

As a small community on Newfoundland's south coast deals with the aftermath of three fires set at key town buildings, students who lost their school are worried about how they're going to continue learning.

Milltown-Head of Bay d'Espoir is in recovery mode following damage at Bay d'Espoir Academy, the town hall and the local RCMP detachment.

I just wish I had a genie so then I could just wish for the same school.- Tori Cox, 9

Donald Craig MacHaight, a 48-year-old man from Morrisville, Nfld., is facing three counts of intentional cause of damage by fire.

Firefighters were still dousing the smouldering rubble of the school's elementary classrooms early Wednesday morning.

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Sisters Trista, 8, Tori, 9, Tessa, 11, and Tia Cox, 12, all said they at first didn't believe their mother when she told them their school had burned to the ground.

"When she told me that it was true, I started crying," said Tori Cox. "I just wish I had a genie so then I could just wish for the same school to just pop up in the same place, because then we could get a normal life again."

The sisters lost a number of items left at the school, with the scene still in the hands of firefighters and first responders.

"The bad thing is that I had a little folder of homework in my desk so I don't get to do homework … I'm not happy because it might go on my report card," Tori Cox said.

Her older sister, Tia, said all her friends are shocked; with midterms scheduled for next week, she's not sure what's going to happen.

"You have people joking all the time like, 'Oh I hope the school burns down,' because you're given a test or whatever, and then you wake up one morning and the school's actually burned down," she said.

"Our school was a learning environment so being stuck God only knows where and being put there to learn is going to be really hard."

Possible relocation for students

A total of about 250 students from kindergarten to Grade 12 have been displaced following the fire at Bay d'Espoir Academy.

Darrin Pike, CEO of the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District, said the school is in pretty rough shape, with the K-6 wing totally wiped out and heavy damage to the high school side.

He said the district is focused on relocating all of the students.

It's a big task, requiring the acquisition of a whole new set of desks, chairs, books and other learning materials. But for some, a return could happen as early as next week.

Pike said the district is looking at the repurposing the community centre in nearby St. Alban's — once a school itself.

"It's looking really, really promising," he said Wednesday afternoon. "With all the work that's necessary, realistically — or maybe optimistically — maybe late next week we could start looking at the high school students coming in."

As for the existing building, Pike said the district still has to see what, if anything, can be salvaged.

"Ultimately a school building will need be rebuilt here in some form or fashion," he said.

Municipal Affairs Minister Eddie Joyce toured the community Wednesday, along with Fortune Bay-Cape La Hune MHA Tracey Perry and Liberal MP Scott Simms.

Joyce said the provincial government will help the community with their budget and with IT.

In the long term, he said they are hoping to rebuild the town hall building, which houses the fire department, town council and the community museum.

"Once there's an assessment done of the damage and what's covered under the insurance, we will help rebuild the town hall, the infrastructure," Joyce said.

Town Council relocated

While the damage is being assessed, the town council will operate out of a vacant office space provided by a local businessman.

As MP for the region, Simms said his concern is the RCMP building.

While the RCMP detachment is still fully functioning, according to RCMP spokesman Cpl. Trevor O'Keefe, counter service is unavailable.

"Anyone who wants a certificate of conduct or requires fingerprints taken won't be able to get it done there," he said.

Officers will soon be housed in a "mobile detachment" truck that is en route to the community, O'Keefe said.

"The members can go in to this very large vehicle, they can sit down, use their computers, do their paperwork, take calls — these types of things."

Right now, he said, they're using computers and taking calls from their cars.