Firefighters were called to the bond building fire just before 3 am on Thursday.
Cam Abrey says there are two options when approaching a fire, offensive or defensive. After starting with an offensive attack on Thursday, the firefighters withdrew because the main floor was spongy. That means the fire was burning under the floor. They transitioned into a defensive approach where they fight the fire from outside the building through the windows and doors.
Abrey says the extreme cold is extremely hard on the firefighters. That’s why they called in the Gilbert Plains firefighters. With the extra help, they could rotate in and out of battling the blaze and warming up at the fire station.
The cold weather is also very hard on the equipment. The ladder truck had an issue where the water froze so it had to return to the fire station to thaw out.
There were about 30 firefighters including the ones that came from Gilbert Plains.
They were on the scene for about 13 hours. After they got back to the fire station there were another two hours of work to make sure everything would be ready next time they get called out.
Cam Abrey is grateful for the help of the Gilbert Plains Fire Department.
“We thank the Gilbert Plains Fire Department and those firefighters for coming out to assist us. Their help is greatly appreciated.”
The other emergency services played a role in helping the firefighters on Thursday. The RCMP kept crowds back and controlled traffic. EMS was on the scene not just for the public, if the firefighters need anything they can help. Abrey calls them all 'one big emergency services family'.
