It's been almost a year since a well-known crematorium in Innisfil burned to the ground, but the facility will soon reopen.
The Innisvale crematorium will be operational in just a few weeks and loved ones can once again be returned to their final resting place.
Ken Loney’s wife’s ashes were saved after fire destroyed the building last Christmas. Ten urns in the indoor niche and bodies waiting to be cremated were recovered.
"It’s free for anyone to come and pay their respects or visit,” says Loney. “Just a permanent place for her."
The fire started around the chimney and caused more than $2 million in damage.
Staff at the cemetery and crematorium are looking forward to getting into their new building.
"We’d like to get back to our regular routine, get out of our temporary trailer, get back to work and do what we do best,” says Nicole McNaughton. “When we get in there, it's just going to be beautiful and we're looking forward to our families, who had their urns inside the niches to come back and place their loved ones inside again."
The new building includes office space, three chambers for cremating and room for nearly 200 urns.
For safety reasons, construction materials are non-combustible and a pond has been added out front.
"This pond will be used for natural water storage in case of a fire. The water will be collected and fire trucks would attach to the hydrant, which will allow them to use water to extinguish a fire in case of an emergency," says Denver Dick, site supervisor.
The exterior of the building, including the brick siding, is expected to be done by Christmas and the goal is to be operating out of the new facility by mid-January.
