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Structure fire in RM of North Battleford causes $150,000 in damage

Jan 11, 2018 | 11:00 AM

It took North Battleford firefighters over six hours in frigid temperatures to put out a blaze in the RM yesterday which caused an estimated $150,000 of damage.

At just after 2 p.m. Wednesday, 15 full-time and on call firefighters arrived at a fully involved structure fire West of Territorial Dr.

According to new Fire Chief Trevor Brice, the fire was brought under control quickly and no one was injured, but his team ran into a few complications that made the situation pretty dangerous.

“We couldn’t isolate the natural gas line because the pipe had burst before the isolation valve,” Brice said. “The gas was alight, so we had to let it flare out until Sask Energy could shut it off further down the line. If we would have put the flare out then we’d have a gas leak.”

Brice found out halfway through the fight there could also be acetylene cylinders in the structure, so his crew had to reposition in case they ignited. 

Because the fire was in a remote area there was no hydrant, so Brice’s team also had to shuttle water in.

Crews are still working on the site today and the cause of the fire hasn’t been determined.

Brice added he was really happy with his team’s performance.

“I am really proud of my crew. With the arduous conditions of the weather being -36 Celsius with the wind-chill, they were out there for over six hours last night,” he said.

 

greg.higgins@jpbg.ca

On Twitter @realgreghiggins