Labrador Inn catches fire in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, pushing out homeless residents

Happy Valley-Goose Bay fire chief Brad Butler, said they received calls saying there was smoke at the Labrador Inn early Wednesday morning.  (Regan Burden/CBC - image credit)
Happy Valley-Goose Bay fire chief Brad Butler, said they received calls saying there was smoke at the Labrador Inn early Wednesday morning. (Regan Burden/CBC - image credit)
Happy Valley-Goose Bay fire chief Brad Butler, said they received calls saying there was smoke at the Labrador Inn early Wednesday morning.
Happy Valley-Goose Bay fire chief Brad Butler, said they received calls saying there was smoke at the Labrador Inn early Wednesday morning.

Brad Butler, Happy Valley-Goose Bay's fire chief, said crews received calls saying there was smoke at the Labrador Inn early Wednesday morning. (Regan Burden/CBC)

Residents of the Labrador Inn in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, N.L., are without shelter after the hotel caught fire Wednesday morning.

Brad Butler, the town's fire chief, said he got a call early in the morning about smoke behind the inn's kitchen.

He said when crews arrived at the inn, they found smoke there, in a bathroom and in the basement.

The fire didn't reach the rooms, and all residents are accounted for and being looked after by Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services, said Butler.

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The inn sustained fire, smoke and water damage after Wednesday's fire, he added, noting that crews had to pull down the walls to access and extinguish the fire.

"We've contained it there now, but they're just doing some overhaul," said Butler.

The Labrador Inn has been handling overflow from Nunatsiavut government emergency shelters since 2020, and has been routinely filled, sometimes over capacity.

For now, residents will have to wait for the RCMP and other emergency services to complete an investigation before returning to the hotel.

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