Local bargain hunters are going to have to be patient when it comes to returning to their favourite thrift store.
The Delta Hospital Auxiliary Society’s thrift shops in Ladner will remain closed indefinitely following a suspicious late night fire on Dec. 27. The blaze started in the back alley of the Delta Street strip mall, with much of the damage located in the former houseware shop, which had been converted into a 72-hour quarantine area for donated items due to COVID-19 safety guidelines. The fire continues to be investigated by Delta police.
Fortunately, the non-profit organization owns the building and was well-positioned for such a tragedy with fire insurance in place. However, it’s another setback with the pandemic already resulting in an estimated 50 percent drop in funding for Delta Hospital and Mountain View Manor.
“The (stores) are an investment for us and of course we would have all business in place to look after them,” said Thrift Shop coordinator Angie Smith. “The hospital unfortunately suffers from this. We are not the only piece of (the auxiliary). The gift shop and cafe in Delta Hospital are not able to contribute as well right now. The hospital is the biggest loser in all of this and that’s the saddest thing.”
A restoration company has the shops secured and is waiting for test results for further work to proceed.
“Everything is pretty much on hold right now as they wait for asbestos results and other things,” continued Smith. “As far as re-opening the (area where the fire started), one of the first guys on the site said we could be looking at up to six months.”
Smith is hoping that timeline can be shorter to at least get the shops back up and running to their pandemic level of operations.
The current houseware store (the former furniture location) came out of the fire unscathed, while the adjacent clothing store also looks fine, but did share the same ventilation system as the fire-damaged quarantine area. Both shops could open sooner if the auxiliary moves their donation operation to a temporary off-site location.
“Our Workers Compensation Board orders (72-hour quarantine) have not changed and we are looking at maybe finding another place to do that,” said Smith. “There are a lot of options we could start looking into and that’s just us doing our due diligence. We would like to see us get the two stores open but we are not talking within a month. We have to be on the same timeline with what the restoration company is doing and the asbestos results. Those are very prominent in our decision making.”
Smith added the number of available volunteers is also a factor. The auxiliary relies heavily on seniors and COVID-19 has reduced their staff to about a third of what it normally is.
“We were already low on resources with COVID really hurting our volunteer base. We do have a lot of logistical issues,” she added.
Although funding is not needed for fire repairs, the auxiliary is very appreciative of the community response including local photographer Dennis Bellia and his Dynamic Photo company holding a sold out fundraising photo session this past weekend at Deas Island Regional Park. Another is planned for this coming weekend.
“It’s wonderful to see fundraisers like how this local community family set-up these photos. That is money we are going to donate right to the hospital,” added Smith.
