Fort McMurray food bank will dump about $200K worth of food after 'suspicious' fire
CBC News | Posted: August 24, 2016 12:00 PM | Last Updated: August 24, 2016
Volunteers need over the weekend to help with the cleanup
The Wood Buffalo food bank says it will have to dump nearly $200,000 worth of stock after a "suspicious" fire Sunday at its warehouse in downtown Fort McMurray.
"It's a heartbreaking event for us," said Arianna Johnson, executive director of the food bank. "It's hard for us, because we spend so much raising money."
It's the second time the food bank has had to throw away food in recent months. When it reopened in June after massive wildfires, Alberta Health Services mandated that the food bank throw away anything that wasn't in a can.
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On Sunday, firefighters responded to a fire at the food bank's warehouse, at 8116 Manning Avenue. No one was injured, Wood Buffalo's Regional Emergency Services said in an email.
The fire department has turned over the investigation to the RCMP, and police are calling the fire "suspicious."
Inside the warehouse, a thin layer of soot covers boxes, cans of food and toiletries.
The food bank said it has enough stock at its main location, not far from the damaged warehouse, to meet demand. It also said the damaged food is covered by insurance.
But it has a call out for volunteers this weekend to help with cleanup.