Organizer 'devastated' after fire damages Cathedral community fridge

A fire damaged a community fridge in Regina's Cathedral neighbourhood on Saturday morning, leaving the area without a resource organizers say offers much-needed help to people in the community.

The fire happened between 3 and 4 a.m., and firefighters came quickly to put it out, the organizers of the community fridge say.

Bree Kroner, one of the organizers, said she was "devastated" when she learned of the fire and saw the damage.

"The first people that I saw come here to discover it were children," said Kroner.

"They started crying and saying, 'Where are we going to get our food? How are we going to get food now? What are we going to do?'"

The Cathedral community fridge sits under the spires of Holy Rosary Cathedral, in the east parking lot of the church. It's a 24-hour free food resource with a fridge, freezer and pantry, offering everything from fresh produce to sanitary products to anyone who needs them, no questions asked.

Kroner stressed the importance of the fridge, saying it offered resources that may be hard for people to access otherwise, especially on the weekends when other places are closed.

The interior of the structure was "fairly badly burned," Kroner said, and a set of new steel doors organizers had just raised funds to buy were destroyed. The outside of the structure was not damaged as badly, she said.

Both of the fridges inside the structure were destroyed by the fire.

"It is absolutely salvageable, and dozens of community members have already started pouring in support and offering their hand and helping to rebuild," she said. "The support has been just amazing."

It's not yet clear how the fire started, but an electrical fire was ruled out as the cause, she said.

"We had the fire investigation unit here about an hour ago doing an official assessment and trying to find the cause for what went on here," said Kroner.

There isn't yet a specific plan on how to move forward with the fridge structure, but "this fire is not going to take us down," said Kroner.

"Whether we rebuild the structure or we repair the structure, we're not entirely sure, but we are going to be working to salvage the structure, and maintain the food resource in Regina too."

Kroner said an official statement from organizers of the fridge will be released on Monday, by which time they hope to have more information.

People looking to donate food still can, but Kroner is asking for it to be delivered and handed directly to folks in the parking lot where the fridge is located.

The Cathedral community fridge group also has a fundraising campaign on the website GoFundMe.