The place has been through a lot in the last 20 years including a strike/lockout because most of the workers wanted a raise. In 2009 Mike Wheaton the owner passed away, and the company was passed onto his brother Darren. In 2011 the roof collapsed in two places (over the molding shop) due to heavy snowfall. A worker was in the building but no where near the collapses. It is one of the last foundries in Canada, and is a heritage site.
This evening the piece that collapsed the year previously "burst into flames." Sackville firefighters arrived but Amherst was also called in. There were two explosions from propane, and the flames were very angry looking. From what I have heard the flames are quite nasty, and it won't stop so the building will be gone by morning. After more is found I will be updating the situation of the fire. In the end the old molding shop previously destroyed, and the offices were taken out by the blaze. The fire started at 7:30, and went well into the night.
Photos by: Dannika Phinney
Personally I have had a few experiences with the foundry. Several of my family members work there, and one still currently does. I would go into the office as a child, and the boss would tease me, and I would see my Aunt. There was a few times I did get to go in the actually foundry including the molding shop. This was the only place I managed to get a bursary from when I graduated high school. The place remotely smells of soot, and ash, and was a smell I became familiar with because of my Father. Though this place scared me from time to time with my Father coming home with injuries, and ultimately angered me when fellow co-workers of the union during the strike made fun of him because he still worked despite the lockout, and the strike. My father still owns a stove by them, and my grandmother owns a wood stove from them as well. This is another heritage building in the city of Sackville, New Brunswick we have lost due to fire.
Photos by: Coldwar_Bonnet
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