Neerlandians today are coming to terms with Saturday’s inferno that reduced their Co-op Home and Farm Centre and warehouse to a smouldering pile of rubble.
Investigators face a painstaking task of sifting through debris amid rumours of a lightning strike and electrical problems.
“It’s too early to talk about a cause,” said Barrhead Deputy Fire Chief Gary Hove, who helped organize the firefighting effort. “We need to let the investigators do their work, otherwise it’s just a guess.”
For Co-op general manager Albert Mast there is the prospect of going back to the drawing board.
“We will have to start over,” he said. “I am confident the community will rally around. They are very resilient people in Neerlandia.”
The blaze started in the warehouse in the early afternoon, ripped through a firewall and engulfed the rest of the building with devastating speed. Some witnesses said it took only minutes for the facility to erupt in flames after what initially appeared like a small fire.
For a few nerve-wracking minutes there was the “pop, pop, pop” of what sounded like ammunition exploding in the warehouse, prompting police to urge a crowd of onlookers back.
Flames reared more than 30 feet above the roof, while billowing clouds of black and grey smoke turned parts of the immediate area into premature night.
Staff barely had time to grab their belongings and dash outside before sections of the building began to give way. Everyone escaped unscathed.
Vehicles were removed as the alert was sounded at about 3:30 p.m. Twenty-two firefighters from Barrhead, Westlock, Jarvie and Rich Valley went to the scene at 3223 Township Road 615A, across from the church on Highway 769. Barrhead RCMP and Associated Ambulance also responded.
Emergency crews met a community keen to help in any way possible, whether through firefighting or providing food and water. Scores of people from miles around had raced to the area after seeing smoke or being notified by friends.
Many stood on the fringes of the fire, staring in disbelief, talking to loved ones or texting friends. Some took photographs or video footage of scenes that seemed more appropriate in a movie, computer war game or nightmare.
As they sought to get the best pictures, an aircraft circled the hamlet; it moved in and out of the smoke, humming like a giant insect.
Meanwhile, firefighters confronted a blaze that had already firmly taken hold of the 90 ft. by 300 ft. facility. One of their biggest challenges was getting enough water to such a large building.
Many acted in pairs, some lying on their backs, directing water jets onto towering tongues of flame.
Wearing oxygen cylinders, firemen managed to jump through a window into an accountant’s office and retrieve valuable computer items, including hard drives and disks.
Almost nothing else was salvaged. Petroleum, oil and agricultural products, as well as lumber, hardware and sporting items went up in flames.
Two firefighters, one from Barrhead, the other Westlock, were taken to hospital suffering from the effects of heat and exhaustion.
Their conditions were not serious and the Barrhead fireman soon rejoined his colleagues.
Emergency personnel remained at the scene through the afternoon and night, ensuring the area was secure before investigators could move in.
Several times flames would shoot out of the charred wreckage, just when it appeared the fire was fizzling out. Occasionally part of a ceiling or wall would collapse in a spray of sparks, revealing the inner husk of the building.
Cindy VandeRiet was among several Co-op employees forced to watch powerlessly as her workplace was destroyed.
“It is devastating, not good at all,” she said.
She said a skeleton crew of about 12 people worked at the home centre on a Saturday.
“I wasn’t working today,” she said. “I was here at about 4:30 p.m. When I arrived the warehouse part of the Co-op was fully engulfed.
“It hadn’t got through the firewall yet, but it didn’t take long to do so, perhaps about half an hour. The fire then went through the hardware section and all the offices.”
VandeRiet said women from the area planned to bring hot food for the firefighters at about 9 p.m.
“They will be bringing chili and soup, and maybe desserts. It is now 7:30 p.m. and we’ve already got coffee on for them, as well as sandwiches.”
VandeRiet was convinced the hamlet would soon get over the crisis, as it had done about a decade ago when fire wrecked a welding facility.
“Knowing people in Neerlandia, they will rebuild quickly,” she smiled. “Neerlandians don’t roll over and die.”
Another Co-op employee Bec Peters, who works in hardware, was in a room upstairs when the drama erupted. It was hard to be precise about the time, she said.
Alerted by a rattling sound on tin, she looked out a window and saw reams of smoke.
She immediately helped with evacuating staff. Thankfully, there were very few customers in the store.
“We grabbed our purses and stuff and left. That’s all we had time to do,” she added. “We all evacuated. There’s not much more I can say. I did what anyone else would do.”
Peters has worked at the Co-op since she moved to Neerlandia from Australia four years ago. As with other employees her employment future is now uncertain.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” she said. “I will find out. We will have to figure out what’s going on and take it from there.”
Also surveying the damage were several members of a nearby Hutterite colony, including Joe Dore, who was quickly at the scene.
A cattle, sheep and pig farmer, he said he did a lot of business with the Co-op.
“Within minutes the whole building was on fire,” he said. “Nobody likes to see something like that. It’s very sad.”
Mast said he spotted smoke from his home in the area.
“My folks tried to call me, but I happened to be outside,” he said. “The fire department was already here when I came. It started in the warehouse then quickly spread. It is not a nice feeling to see this happen, not at all.”
Mast was full of praise for the fire services from different counties that pooled their resources as part of a mutual aid agreement.
“We very much appreciate it,” he said.
Mast said the warehouse was erected in 2004, while the home centre addition was built in the spring of 2006.
It was too early to assess the cost of the damage, he said. Thankfully, the property was insured.
Mast added that very little was salvaged, except a few vehicles.
“There were about 15 members of staff at the time and they all evacuated,” he said. “Nobody was hurt and that is the main thing. Metal and lumber is worthless compared to human life.”
Also escaping unharmed was the Co-op Service Centre, which is only a stone’s throw from the warehouse.
Pieter Dejong, Service Centre manager, said the roof of the building had been cooled with jets of water.
“When the fire broke out I saw smoke coming out of the eaves,” he said. “It was pretty sad to see.”
Deputy Fire Chief Hove helped run the firefighting operation with Captain Ted Amos, also from Barrhead.
He said the fire began in the warehouse, transferred to the firewall and into main part of the building.
“We concentrated our efforts on protecting the firewall, to stop the fire there, but due to the amount of heat it was impossible,” he said.
Hove said the sheer size of the building had posed a major challenge. It was difficult to get water in sufficient quantities to the problem areas, even though two tenders were present.
“It was hard to get water to penetrate deep enough in the heat,” he said. “Water was turning to steam before we could get deep into the fire. That, as you can imagine, is a problem.
“When I arrived on scene the warehouse was fully involved and fire had broken through roof. There was heavy smoke and lots of heat.
“I saw flames probably about 30 feet above the roof. Already a partial structural collapse had occurred in the warehouse.”
In the early evening, firefighters were briefly assisted by a torrential downpour. There were occasional flashes of lightning as bystanders fled to cars and trucks or sought shelter in nearby Co-op property.
For Hove the sudden shower had little positive impact.
“We needed a lot more of it and earlier,” he laughed.
Hove said the fire department wanted to get a roster of who had been working in the Home and Farm Centre and warehouse. That was a key part of the investigation into the cause of the blaze.
“We need to find out who was inside and hear their side of the story,” he said.
Barrhead RCMP officer Const. Kirk Fisler also helped at the scene, frequently liaising with firefighters and members of the public. At one stage he donned an oxygen tank as the smoke intensified, fanned by strong winds.
For Fisler the drama will be one of the enduring memories he takes with him to his next posting in the Medicine Hat area. It is not one he welcomes.
“It has been like a particularly bad movie,” he said.
