Port Coquitlam elementary school to be rebuilt after 2023 fire

Port Coquitlam says the province has approved plans to rebuild an elementary school that was destroyed in a massive, suspicious fire in 2023.

Mayor Brad West took to social media Wednesday to announce that Hazel Trembath Elementary will be rebuilt after 17 months of waiting for approval.

Just after 3 a.m. on Oct. 14, 2023, Mounties responded to reports of a fire at the school in the city’s Mary Hill neighbourhood.

Footage posted to social media at the time of the blaze showed the school fully engulfed in flames, with thick grey and black smoke wafting into the air.

Smoke and haze drifted into nearby neighbourhoods, including Burnaby, New Westminster, and parts of Vancouver.

Port Coquitlam Deputy Fire Chief Mike Patrick told The Leader Spirit at the time of the fire that when crews arrived, smoke and flames were showing throughout the building. He said approximately 26 firefighters battled the blaze, which resulted in a “total loss” of the school.

Since then, the RCMP declared it believes the fire was “human caused,” and “criminal in nature.”

Community members quickly petitioned to rebuild the school as students were displaced to the nearby Winslow Centre.

The school district said the Ministry of Education and Child Care held the power to make the final decision on rebuilding the school.

West says the school district announced Wednesday evening that approval has finally arrived.

“I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who raised their voice, and kept advocating, through the frustration and heartbreak,” said West on social media.

“But most of all, tonight my heart is full knowing that hundreds of kids in Port Coquitlam will be able to learn and grow and connect in a school in their own community, where they belong.”

The mayor says details are “still to be determined.”

—With files from Sonia Aslam.