An electrical fault is believed to be the cause of a structure fire in Bloomsbury.
On Tuesday, May 26, at about 9 a.m. the Barrhead Fire Department responded to a call of a hay bale fire that was threatening a nearby home.
Fire chief John Whittaker said when crews arrived the fire had already spread to the unoccupied home.
“What we think happened is that there was a short in a pump or in the power wire to an electric fence and it caught a hay bale on fire that was pushed right up against the house for insulation,” he said.
Eighteen firefighters from four different fire departments aided in fighting the blaze.
Whittaker said Westlock County and Rich Valley, besides contributing manpower also contributed water tanker trucks. The Town of Westlock brought a ladder truck to the effort.
“Unfortunately we were not able to save the structure,” Whittaker said, adding that materials and how the house was constructed complicated the firefighting efforts. “Because of the tin roof and the concrete rock siding ventilating the building was troublesome.”
Adding to the firefighters difficulty was the weather.
“I couldn’t be prouder of our membership. They worked ridiculously well in the heat. The temperature was 28 degrees Celsius and then you have to add in bunker gear and full CBA (certified breathing apparatus),” he said, adding that EMS was also called out just in case there were any medical issues because of the heat.
The fire was extinguished at about 2 p.m.
More fire department callouts
Whittaker said the Barrhead Fire Department responded to two calls on the evening of Monday, May 25. The first one was to a report of smoke near the intersection of Hwy. 777 and Hwy. 654. By the time fire crews arrived the fire had been extinguished by the landowner.
The other call was to report of an overturned canoe in Lac La Nonne near Birch Cove at about 9 p.m.
Whittaker said a local resident helped pull two individuals from the lake, adding that the pair suffered no injuries.
“Both individuals were wearing their PFD, personal floatation devices,” he said, adding that it was a good example of why it is important to think of safety when doing any water activity. “It was late in the evening and there wasn’t a lot of traffic on the water at that time. If they hadn’t been wearing their PFD’s the outcome may have been very different.”
Whittaker wanted to remind people that due to the extremely dry conditions there is currently a province wide fire ban.
