Fire Guts Former Church/Future Daycare

[CRAZY4MYKIDS]

Fire Guts Former Church

Fire ripped through the former Holy Rosary Church Saturday afternoon, sending smoke and flames visible from kilometers away.
Crews from across the city were called into to battle the blaze. At one point, firefighters were ordered to evacuate the building due to the instability of the roof.

The building had been under construction, since the Diocese of London closed the church last year. It was to be the new home of the "Whetter Avenue Early Childhood Learning Centre", a non-profit daycare. But with extensive damage to the structure, the future of the two million dollar project.

My son's Daycare Centre "Whiteoaks Daycare Centre" was to move there January 2nd.

[CRAZY4MYKIDS]

Raging blaze hits day care in London

Parents face longer waiting lists after the fire at the centre that was under construction and slated to open next month.
By NORMAN DE BONO, FREE PRESS BUSINESS REPORTER

More London children face a longer stay on child-care waiting lists after a massive fire yesterday at a day-care centre under construction.

London firefighters battled the stubborn blaze for much of the day at the Whetter Avenue Early Childhood Learning Centre at Wellington Road and Whetter Avenue, which started about 9 a.m., said witnesses.

The centre was under construction and slated to open next month for more than 100 children, but extensive fire damage is fuelling fears the $2-million structure will have to be torn down and rebuilt, Ian Gibb, director of London Bridge Child Care Services Inc., said yesterday.

"This is very difficult," Gibb said as he watched firefighters pour water into gaping holes in the roof to douse shooting flames.

"We were planning on opening next month. This project has been in the works for three years. This is a high-need neighbourhood and we had people waiting to get in."

The centre was to be a fully integrated infant, toddler and pre-school program, boasting a large playground. To rebuild will take at least another nine months, the contractor, Mike Buren, said yesterday.

"It is harder than rebuilding from scratch, because you have smoke damage, you have to tear it down to start again.

"This is a writeoff. I have never seen this happen in my years in construction. It is not good."

Construction workers on the scene said roofers were using torches to "seal" the roofing on a flat portion of the roof when it caught fire.

"We understand that work on the roof may be the source, but we are not sure yet," said Gibb.

Buren agreed, saying workers had to "torch it down to seal the roof membrane."

The building is the former Holy Rosary Catholic Church, a prefabricated structure constructed in 1952 to serve a postwar influx of immigrants and baby boomers. It closed in 2005.

London Bridge now has 65 children at another centre at St. Stephen's Memorial Church and must now approach the church to renew the lease. As for the remaining youngsters who were to be in the centre, they will simply stay longer on the waiting list, said Gibb.

"They are closing the site we are at now and we have to ask them to extend our lease," he said. "There are literally hundreds and hundreds waiting for day care."

London Bridge is a non-profit agency. The building was insured, Gibb said.



From his vantage point atop an aerial ladder beside the steeple of the former Hold Rosary Church on Wellington Road, a London firefighter hoses water through holes in the roof of the decades-old building, which was being converted for use by London Bridge Day Care. (KEN WIGHTMAN, The London Free Press)

[CRAZY4MYKIDS]

Church helps child-care agency hit by fire

St. Stephen's Memorial extends an offer of space.
By NORMAN DE BONO, FREE PRESS REPORTER

An Anglican parish has stepped forward to help a London child-care agency after its new facility was gutted by fire.

London Bridge was operating a child-care facility with 65 spaces at St. Stephen's Memorial Anglican Church while its Whetter Avenue Early Childhood Learning Centre was being built.

The centre was badly damaged by fire Saturday and will have to rebuilt, Ian Gibb, director of London Bridge Child Care Services Inc., said yesterday.

St. Stephen's yesterday extended an offer for London Bridge to remain at the church on Southdale Road East until the project is complete. "We have a very good relationship and that is why we are here, to pull together in time of difficulty," Rev. Keith Nethery said. "They have been so good to us, it is easy for us to be good to them."

The fire Saturday at the former Holy Rosary Roman Catholic Church, at Wellington Road and Whetter Avenue, saw 112 new spaces for infant, toddler and pre-school children go up in flames.

The new centre was built to replace spaces at St. Stephen's and add an additional 47 spaces for children on waiting lists.

"That is great news, it is a great relief," Gibb said.

"It is one less thing we will have to worry about in the next few days, but more importantly it gives comfort to the 65 families who have children there now, that they will still have a place."

The centre, in the works for three years, will be rebuilt at a cost of about $1 million, Gibb said.

"Our relationship is more than just landlord and tenant, it has been very good and close," Nethery said.

As for the fire, the centre is awaiting a report from the Ontario Fire Marshal's office about the cause, but early indications are it was caused by roofers using a torch when installing roofing, Gibb said.

"We will wait for the fire marshal to assess the structural damage, to see what we can salvage," he said.

As for the 47 children who were to be at the centre next month, they will have to remain on waiting lists until the centre is rebuilt, in about nine months, Gibb said.

"I cannot imagine what those families are facing, finding care for infants and toddlers is impossible in the city."

The total value of the centre is $2 million, including buying the land and church, parking and a new playground, as well as equipment that was not in the centre at the time of the fire.

London Bridge serves 1,500 children a week at 11 centres in London, as well as in Exeter and Sarnia.

It has a waiting list of 600 for infant spaces alone, Gibb said.



Saturday's fire at the former Holy Rosary Catholic Church has delayed the conversion of the church into a day-care facility. (KEN WIGHTMAN, The London Free Press)