No injuries as daycare in Pelly Crossing, Yukon, destroyed by fire
The only daycare in Pelly Crossing, Yukon, burned to the ground this past weekend while unoccupied.
The fire happened Saturday around 3 a.m. No one was injured.
Yukon RCMP have confirmed they will not investigate the fire as a criminal act.
Fire Marshal's Office investigators are still working to determine the cause, however the office has told Yukon Community Services they have deemed the fire not to be suspicious.
The Dunya Ra K'ats 'inte'ku Daycare was operated by the Selkirk First Nation.
Yukon's department of Community Services says it was run out of a roughly 50-year old building which was a converted house.
The daycare was licensed to care for 18 infants.
Building did comply with fire code, government says
Yukon Community Services spokesperson Mike Fancie said a three-person crew of Yukon Wildland Firefighters responded to the fire during the night after it triggered alarms.
Pelly Crossing is one of 16 communities in Yukon with a volunteer-operated fire hall, however it is inactive these days pending more recruits. Fancie says the three-person attack crew of wildland firefighters managed to contain the fire so that it did not spread to other buildings.
"Unfortunately, the 50-year-old building was a total loss ... It has always been up to date in terms of fire code inspections and in adhering to National Fire Code requirements," he wrote in an email to CBC.
Funding for replacement already delivered
The daycare had already been scheduled to be replaced.
In July of 2019 the federal government announced $1,125,000 in funding for a new building to serve as the Selkirk First Nation's new Early Childhood Development Centre.
The territorial government had also pledged $375,000 for construction.
Yukon's department of Community Services says funding for construction has already been transferred to the Selkirk First Nation who are managing the new daycare project.
The Selkirk First Nation on Thursday was observing cultural protocols related to the death of an elder in the community and leaders were unavailable for comment.
