It has been less than three months since a massive fire destroyed a large portion of the First Nations Technical Institute campus on the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory.
There has been no time off for the staff and administration however.
President of FNTI Suzanne Brant sat down with Quinte News to publicly discuss the massive fire February 24.
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In the late evening hours of the 24th, fire crews from Deseronto, Napanee and the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory responded to 314 Airport Road, where the World War 2 era hangar was engulfed in flames.
It burned for about 17 minutes before it collapsed. The hangar was about 50,000 square feet, with more than a dozen planes inside.
Suzanne Brant discussed the amount of damage.
“Planes, the building itself, we’re looking at probably seven, eight or nine million for replacement. We lost a truck, and we lost a plow for the truck, a little bit of damage to some of our vans that we had to repair.”
She says there was also mechanical equipment as well as tools inside the hangar. The building’s foundation was destroyed.
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For many weeks there has been cleaning of the site, including contaminated soil.
Once one of the two campuses for FNTI was no longer there, officials looked at what the future would hold.
The Indigenous post-secondary institution has two properties, one at 3 Old York Road, which is the main campus, along with the airfield on Airport Road.
Once the fire destroyed the aviation program’s infrastructure, students were sent back to their homes across Canada, where they would continue their education.
Brant says they have created a proposal for a brand new FNTI.
“We’re actually looking at a 50,000 square foot net-zero building that will be our campus building for classrooms and administration. Then the new hangar will be built and we’re also looking at replacing the runways. These runways have not been replaced in years.”
The property on Airport Road is leased from the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte Band Council. Brant says they would like to consolidate both campuses on Airport Road.
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The proposal is to create a 50,000 square foot academic and administration building, a new air hangar, renovated runway and taxi, new student accommodations, a greenhouse, simulator, Indigenous Learning Centre, garden and more.
Brant says they would apply for federal and provincial funding for the new campus.
The academic and administration building is projected to cost $41 million.
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The Old York Road campus, which is 6,250 square feet, was built in the 1980s from modular units belonging to a local school board. FNTI says the Old York Road campus has outlived its lifespan. There was discussion about upgrades to the current locations, however it was deemed a poor return on investment by staff.
The new proposal indicates that the new facility could double or triple enrolment within a decade.
Brant says the next steps will see considerable consultation with the Band Council, FedDev Southern Ontario, and the provincial and federal governments.
