Fire displaces 38 residents of Saskatoon Lighthouse

Saskatoon crews responded to a fire at the embattled former emergency shelter the Lighthouse on Wednesday evening.

Firefighters were called to the scene around 6 p.m. and reported seeing a small amount of smoke wafting from the roof when they arrived, according to a fire department news release.

Inside, one room was filled with a light haze and felt slightly warmer, the Saskatoon Fire Department said. Opening access to the ceiling, crews discovered a fire in the concealed joist space between the ceiling and floor of the suite above.

The fire is now completely extinguished and no injuries were reported.

An investigator has deemed the fire accidental — caused by an electrical malfunction. Four suites sustained damage, estimated at $150,000.

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The fire department says 38 people were displaced due to the blaze, but the property agent has found accommodation for all of them.

The Lighthouse found itself at the centre of protracted internal conflict in recent years, leading to its eventual sale to the provincial government, which plans to relocate all its residents and flip the property.

The site was once the primary emergency shelter in Saskatoon, but in 2022 the province revoked its funding in the wake of financial scandal.

The funding cut came shortly after the release of a court-ordered investigation from MNP that showed Lighthouse director Don Windels had used shelter funds for personal loans.

The organization was put under the full control of a court-appointed receiver in April 2023 after an application from its primary creditor Affinity Credit Union.

The Lighthouse owed approximately $2.6 million to Affinity, but in court filings, the credit union said it agreed to "accept a significant loss" of that debt to approve the sale.

The organization's 60 employees were given layoff notices in November, and a failing adventure park owned by the Lighthouse was sold last summer.

—With files from Rory MacLean