Burned-down Port Coquitlam elementary school will be rebuilt, city says

By mid-morning Saturday, smoke could still be seen rising from the building, much of which had been destroyed. (@CityofPoCo/X)

Nearly a year and a half after an elementary school in Port Coquitlam, B.C., was destroyed in a fire, the city’s mayor and school trustee says a rebuild is finally confirmed.

In a social media post Wednesday, school trustee Michael Thomas said the district has received a capital plan approval to rebuild Hazel Trembath Elementary from the provincial government.

Details about the new school are still to be determined, he said.

Since the school burned down, parents and local politicians have been rallying the province for concrete answers about a school rebuild. The Education Ministry had promised it would replace Hazel Trembath, but over the ensuing months provided no official announcements or timeline, only saying that a “process” was underway.

Read more: ‘We haven’t heard anything’: Community demands answers after province goes quiet on rebuild of Port Coquitlam school

“There must be a better process for extra-ordinary situations like this,” Thomas wrote. “Families shouldn’t be left in limbo when disaster strikes their neighbourhood school.”

Hazel Trembath Elementary went up in flames the early hours of Oct. 14, 2023. Months later, Mounties deemed the blaze to be human caused.

Read more: ‘They did everything they could’: Students thank firefighters on anniversary of Port Coquitlam, B.C., school fire

Since then, students have been attending class at Winslow Centre, a former school-turned-administration building in the neighbouring city of Coquitlam.

“I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who raised their voice, and kept advocating, through the frustration and heartbreak,” Mayor Brad West wrote in a social media post. “But most of all, tonight my heart is full knowing that hundreds of kids in Port Coquitlam will be able to learn and grow and connect in a school in their own community, where they belong.”