Camera caught person walking away from fireball at Sandy Bay CFS office in 2019: fire commissioner
Surveillance camera inside office was broken, fire was consistent with ignitable liquid: report on 2019 fire
A person suspected of deliberately setting a fire that destroyed the Sandy Bay First Nation Child and Family Services office in 2019 was caught on camera, a report from the Manitoba Office of the Fire Commissioner says.
The report, obtained by CBC News through a Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act request, outlines why the fire commissioner's office deemed the fire was intentionally set.
The fire investigation found a security camera captured video showing a person walking away from the child and family services office on Sandy Bay — a First Nation about 130 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg — as the building burned on Dec. 15, 2019.
A large fireball is seen in the video, also obtained by CBC, at the northwest corner of the building, which housed the storage room where the Office of the Fire Commissioner says the fire likely started.
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"Approximately five minutes after the ignition of the fire in the storage room, someone is seen walking away from the building at the front (south) and heading west," says the report, signed by fire investigator Ken Kroeker.
It says the initial fireball and the rate of spread for the fire are consistent with the use of an ignitable liquid.
The fire appeared to be set by the person seen in the video with the "intention of causing severe damage to the property," the report says.
The Manitoba First Nations Police Service also investigated the fire, but that investigation concluded in April 2021 without any charges laid, due to a lack of evidence.
Chronology of the fire
The security camera video runs just over one hour and 45 minutes, the report says, and helps paint a picture of what happened on the morning of Dec. 15, 2019.
According to the report, an alarm system with motion detectors and heat detectors was set off several times, with the first alarm from a motion detector at 5:33 a.m.
The doors to the building would be locked with magnetic devices, so a card was required to gain entry both during normal operating hours and after hours, the report says.
At 5:35 a.m. on Dec. 15, the surveillance video shows a large fire ignited from the floor area in the storage room, as seen through a window, according to the report.
"This window was removed, or opened prior to the ignition of the fire," the report says, and the video shows smoke "exiting through the window opening instantaneously after ignition of fire and moving east."
The fire spread quickly, and by 5:37 a.m. the storage room and the northwest corner office were engulfed. A minute later, the 911 communications centre received notification of the fire, and noted 5:38 a.m. as the alarm time.
About two minutes after that alert, "someone is [seen] walking away from the front of the building on the south side toward the west," the report notes.
The video shows that fire trucks arrive 17 minutes after the person is seen walking away.
Later investigation in the building showed someone had created a mess and destroyed surveillance equipment.
"There were Christmas decorations scattered all over the entrance and foyer area on the interior," the report says. "The security camera located in the front (south) side entrance was broken off the ceiling and lying on the floor."
Manitoba First Nations Police Service agreed to provide CBC News with a copy of the video, which appears to come from a security camera on a community centre adjacent to the CFS office.
The agency office is difficult to see as it is in the far background of the frame and out of focus, but zoomed in, a figure of a person is seen walking away from the wreckage of the building at 5:39 a.m.
To make details more visible, CBC News zoomed in and edited the video to condense the passage of time.
WATCH | Security footage of the fire obtained by CBC News:
The fire commissioner's report says video from the security camera in the CFS agency's building couldn't be obtained due to recent computer server issues with the system.
Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation Chief Trevor Prince could not be reached for comment, but has said in the past he hopes those responsible for the fire will be brought to justice.
Concern for kids in care
Ainsley Krone, Manitoba's acting advocate for children and youth, says the fire at Sandy Bay is concerning because her office relies heavily on administrative records to do monitoring, investigative and accountability work.
However, there's more at risk than just paperwork.
"I would say that the bigger concern is for kids because whenever there's instability in an organization … that can also create instability in the lives of young people," Krone said in an interview.
"We've been involved with kids from Sandy Bay for a really long time. We remain involved and so we're doing what we can to make sure that everyone has what they need, when they're in need of child welfare services."
Chief Prince has also said in the past that the fire was a financial setback to the community.
Sandy Bay Child and Family Services has also been in turmoil for the last year due to an ongoing investigation into financial irregularities.
A forensic audit was due in December 2021, but has not been released publicly.
CBC News reached out to the Southern First Nations Network of Care on Tuesday morning for an update on the status of the audit, but has not received a response.
Read the redacted version of the Office of the Fire Commissioner report:
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