Students and parents react to seeing fire-ravaged Port Coquitlam school

A crowd of spectators gathered Sunday afternoon behind yellow tape to take in the sight of debris where a school once stood.

Fire crews responded to the blaze early Saturday morning at Hazel Trembath Elementary in Port Coquitlam. Not much is left of the building after the fire, the cause of which is still under investigation, and the smell of the smoke was still noticeable Sunday.

CityNews spoke to parents of children who attended the school and many are still in disbelief

“I heard the sirens early in the morning and thought something awful was happening in the neighbourhood,” said Megan MacDonald.

“I was waking up in the morning and my friend texted me ‘Our school is on fire,'” said Maya, a grade 5 student. “Sad. It’s the only place I felt good.”

MacDonald said she is surprised at how quickly the city has been able to relocate the whole school as a group.

“Keeping them together was really important.”

Mayor Brad West says it’s heartbreaking to see his old elementary school burnt down. He says the city has asked their RCMP detachment to be extra vigilant around other schools in the community.

“It’s been a lot of hard work over the last 48 hours,” he said. “I can’t say enough about the staff who has been working long into the night to take care of our kids to make sure they have a place to go.”

MacDonald says the new location will be about a 15-minute drive from the former Hazel Trembath Elementary.

“Winslow (Centre) will be difficult to get to, but they are setting up school bus shuttles to and from, which is an amazing relief for us parents who have work.”

Charlotte says she’s really excited to ride the bus to school.

“It’s kind of new for me, but I’ve been on school buses for field trips,” she said.

West says he has a message for the students who have lost their school.

“You’ve got the whole community of Port Coquitlam behind you,” he said. “There are a lot of people in this city who care about you and want to make sure you are well taken care of to get a plan together to keep you and your classmates together, and my son is one of those classmates. We will work to get the school rebuilt and get the kids back into the school they love.”