‘It’s going to make us stronger': N.B. band seeks to recover after rehearsal hall fire

The Saint Mary's Band performs in Saint John. (Source: Facebook/Saint Mary's Band)

Davin Sooley was asleep on the morning of Oct. 26, 2024, when he got a call from the Saint John Fire Department: His band’s rehearsal hall was on fire.

“It’s not the kind of call you want to be woken up with,” Sooley said. “We didn’t think it could happen to us.”

The fire, which started when a person in an encampment behind the building lit it to keep warm, spread along the metal siding of the structure, melting it off. It covered a third of the back wall and began to burn the interior before crews got it under control and doused it.

After the firefighters left, Sooley and his fellow band members assessed the aftermath. Holes in the roof, water damage and flooring that would need to be ripped out and replaced.

Sooley, president of the Saint Mary’s Band, knew that, for the first time in more than 60 years, his group would have to rehearse somewhere else in the Port City.

“Harbour View High School has been so generous,” he said. “We have the use of their music room three nights a week for our rehearsals. We’ve had lots of offers for space and we have spaces that can be used.

“There’s a great showing of support from the community.”

The fire is one of the biggest setbacks in the Saint Mary’s Band’s lengthy history. It originally began as a youth outreach program for an Anglican church in 1903. In 1917, many members enlisted and travelled overseas to fight in the First World War.

The surviving members returned to Canada in 1919 and reorganized the band, eventually earning enough money to buy new instruments and uniforms in 1924. They moved into their permanent rehearsal space on Brinley Street in 1960.

In the wake of the fire, the group has hired a team to remediate the building, which includes washing the walls and replacing the siding on the back of the structure. It all comes with a $44,000 bill.

“We’ve been very lucky for the last six or seven years with donations,” Sooley said. “We’ve been able to build up a bit of savings. We’re going to need to do new insulation and replace the flooring.

“There’s no timeline yet because we don’t know how much it will cost.”

To help the remediation work, the band hosted a fundraiser concert at Harbour View High School last November, raising just under $7,000.

“That surprised me,” Sooley said. “I know Harbour View’s audiences are generous but that was far outside what we expected.”

Sooley says they plan to do another fundraiser at the Imperial Theatre in late April or early May. They’re also coming up with a capital fundraising campaign.

“Everyone’s been very positive,” he said. “We’re going to get back into the building. It’s going to make us stronger.”

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