UnBQ Boiler Room

“Their education must consist not merely of training of the mind, but of a weaning from the habits and feelings of their ancestors, and the acquirements of the language, art and customs of civilized life.” – Egerton Ryerson, 1847 Report for Indian Affairs

Heating, Water and Plumbing

The boiler room is one of the areas of UnBQ where function and appearance have changed very little since its operation as a residential school. While there have been technological updates and modernization of the utilities, the boiler room retains much of its original appearance.

Students at the school were often responsible for tasks related to the operation of the school such as laundry, washing dishes, harvesting food from the gardens, serving staff meals, taking care of livestock, and shoveling coal. Children working at these tasks would be assigned them both as daily living chores but also occasionally as punishment.

Water Quality and Quantity

Soon after its construction, chemical analysis of Blue Quills water supply revealed high levels saline/sodium sulfate, which is said to have a laxative effect when consumed. The extreme hardness of the water with high amounts of rust would have been harmful for both human consumption and the plumbing system itself. Despite these safety concerns, government representatives deemed the installation of a water softener to be unnecessary and too expensive.

Fire Hazards and Protective Measures

Many of the risks faced by Indigenous students attending residential schools such as Blue Quills came from the buildings themselves. The architectural plans for Blue Quills which have been constructed using the laser scanning data, illustrate how poorly these schools were designed from a safety perspective. In 1952, a very dangerous fire hazard was identified at Blue Quills following the construction of a new wing of the school which was accessible from two levels. Inspector F.A Ingram advised that the stairwells be enclosed so that they acted as a natural fire break to prevent the spread of fire.

The relatively remote location of Blue Quills required that fire suppression be done on site. Blue Quills had been designed to accommodate 200 students. However, a feasibility study showed that well water productivity was only able to support 100 students. This was inadequate for both fire protection and student use (hygiene and consumption). As a result, water tanks at the school were of a size that was inadequate for extinguishing any fires that might occur. Fire escapes, as seen in the virtual 3D model of UnBQ above, were also documented as being inaccessible to many students. Inspectors report that while fire escapes were accessible to students on the first floor, they were inaccessible to students on the second floor.

This image includes modern images of the boiler room. If anyone has historic photos of the boiler room at Old Sun that they would like to submit to this archive, please contact us at irsdocumentationproject@gmail.com or submit through "Submit your Memories" button at the top of the page.