A teenager was treated by ambulance crews and released on scene after suffering minor injuries during a fire that destroyed a home in the County of Barrhead.
Fire crews were alerted to the fire at 6:45 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 27 to a fire on Range Road 53.
Barrhead fire chief John Whittaker said when fire crews arrived they found a mobile home type structure fully engulfed.
“It was a challenging fire. Because of the distance from the fire hall and the weather, heavy fog, it slowed our response time down considerably,” he said, adding the fire department was down to what amounted to a skeleton crew.
Earlier in the evening a number of firefighters from Barrhead Fire Department (BFD) travelled to Namao to take part in a hazardous joint training exercise/course with the Sturgeon Fire Department.
To make up for the staffing shortfall, Whittaker called for the assistance of the Town of Westlock Fire Department and the Fort Assiniboine Fire Department.
The only one at home at the time was a teenager, who escaped the home and was the one that called 911. The family’s pets, two dogs and three cats, unfortunately were unable to escape and perished in the fire.
Whittaker said the fire is not deemed to be suspicious and the most likely cause is an electrical issue.
“I can’t really express how much the relationships we have with our fellow fire departments mean to us,” he said, adding it is only with their help that many of the fires they responded to have had the positive outcomes that they have.
“No one was hurt and we managed to hold the fires to the original buildings, especially considering how crazy busy we have been.”
Whittaker noted in the last week, since they responded to a large structure fire at a local dairy, reported in the Oct. 25 issue of the Barrhead Leader, the BFD has been called out on 15 occasions.
“Yesterday’s (Oct. 27) was our 315th call this year,” he said, adding the number smashes the old record of 226. “I can’t say enough about our members. They are just doing an amazing job under some trying circumstances.”
