> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.thecanadareport.ca/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # New Brunswick Church Fire Destroys Historic Site, Damages Four Buildings - URL: https://www.thecanadareport.ca/new-brunswick-church-fire/ - Published: 2026-08-25T03:42:54.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-25T03:42:53.000Z - Description: New Brunswick church fire destroys a century-old Saint-Simon landmark, damages four nearby buildings and sparks an investigation. - Author: Steve Cogbill - Tags: Daily News, New Brunswick | Sourced from 2 independent sources · 2 points in dispute | | -------------------------------------------------------- | CTV News and CBC News Sources agree on most key facts but differ on 2 points. 9 key facts · 8 corroborated · 2 disputed Where sources differ When the fire was extinguished CTV News: The fire was put out around 8:30 a.m. CBC News: Fire departments were still battling the fire at 10 a.m. What nearby structures were damaged CTV News: Four other buildings were damaged, including a community hall and a cottage. CBC News: Four neighbouring homes were damaged by the heat of the flames. This summary is compiled from the independent sources listed above. Saint-Simon has lost more than a church. Fire destroyed Saint-Simon Church on Monday morning in the Acadian Peninsula community of Saint-Simon, in northern New Brunswick, after firefighters received the call around 3:30 a.m. The large wooden church, built more than a century ago, was remembered by residents and officials as a gathering place at the centre of community life. Chief Luc Dugas of the Caraquet Fire Department said the fire appeared suspicious. The RCMP and the Office of the Fire Marshal are investigating. ## A wooden landmark lost Firefighters from Caraquet, Shippagan and Bertrand responded to the fire. Four nearby structures were damaged. CBC News reported that no one was hurt. Dugas described the challenge of trying to save a large wooden building once flames took hold. “There’s no brick here. Nothing at all. It’s all made of wood, and it was big,” Dugas said. He said firefighters understood how difficult the fight would be as the fire moved through the building’s wooden interior. “Once it started in the roof of the church itself, I said to the other men, ‘You know, when this wall is gone inside and it goes into the varnish, the seats and everything is all made of wood with the varnish, it’s done,’ and that’s what happened,” Dugas said. “We knew we were not going to save the place.” ## Memories at the centre For people in Saint-Simon, the loss is being measured in weddings, baptisms, funerals, meals and gatherings. “It’s memories,” Dugas said. “People say, we got married here. Somebody died, we went to the basement, we had lunch there. That’s where the gathering was done. That’s just memories now.” Monique Albert Léger told Radio-Canada she was awakened by sirens and saw the flames outside her home. “The flames had reached the steeple and there was nothing left to do,” Léger said. She said the church held deep personal meaning for her family. “It hits close to home. It’s our heart, it’s our lungs, it’s the centre of our village. We just lost a big piece.” Caraquet Mayor Bernard Theriault called the destruction a tragedy, describing the church as “very beautiful” and still in use by the community. ## Suspicious fire investigated Dugas said the fire appeared suspicious, but the cause has not been established in the confirmed reporting. The RCMP and the Office of the Fire Marshal are investigating the fire. Dugas told Radio-Canada he had a bad feeling when the call came in. “Sometimes we have false alarms, but I already had a bad feeling,” he said. “I told myself we never had problems with this alarm.” The investigation now sits alongside the grief of residents who watched a century-old wooden landmark disappear in a single morning. ## A major community loss Officials and residents described Saint-Simon Church as an important gathering place, and its destruction as a major loss for the community. Msgr. Michel Proulx, Bishop of the Diocese of Bathurst, said his first concern was the community’s ability to come together after the fire. “First, what is important, is to make sure that everyone is OK, that the community can continue to gather,” he said. He said he was sad for both the congregation and the broader community of Saint-Simon. “It’s a wooden church, it’s a beautiful church, a building that bears witness to the faith of the ancestors who built it, and also to the faith of the communities that continue to gather there and maintain it,” Proulx said. **Reader-funded. No ads. No paywall.** The Canada Report is independent, reader-funded Canadian news — no advertisers, nothing behind a paywall, kept free for everyone. If you value it, you can help keep it that way. [Support The Canada Report →](https://www.thecanadareport.ca/support/) --- [*Source 1*](https://www.ctvnews.ca/atlantic/new-brunswick/article/historic-nb-church-destroyed-by-fire/?ref=thecanadareport.ca) *|* [*Source 2*](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/fire-saint-simon-church-wood-9.7318148?ref=thecanadareport.ca) ## Sign up for The Canada Report Your modern digest of Canadian news. Friendly, clear, and in your inbox. Subscribe Email sent! 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