BONNYVILLE – Station 5 Bonnyville and RCMP were dispatched to a structure fire at 7:25 a.m. Thursday morning, after receiving a call from a community member.
Bonnyville RCMP have taken over the investigation of the fire that occurred at 5212-51 St., as it is believed the fire was intentionally set, according to an RCMP press release.
When Bonnyville Regional Fire Authority (BRFA) Regional Fire Chief Dan Heney arrived on scene, the vacant home on the southwest corner of 51 St. and 53 Ave. was pushing out large amounts of smoke.
“There was fire coming out of one of the windows and it accelerated very quickly to become fully involved before the crews were able to arrive on scene,” Heney told Lakeland This Week.
“We fought a defensive fire from the outside to try to make sure that the fire didn't spread to other structures.”
Responding firefighters managed to prevent the fire from spreading to surrounding homes and structures.
Attending the morning blaze were two Station 5 crews and a crew from Station 7 Fort Kent that arrived to provide assistance.
“Heavy equipment was used to peel away the roof to be able to completely stop any fire that was remaining inside of the attic space and the walls,” explained Heney.
As the fire was brought under control, Fort Kent crews were able to leave the scene between 11-11:30 a.m.
About an hour later, one of the two Bonnyville crews packed up their gear and returned to the station. The final responding crew cleared the scene shortly after 1 p.m.
There were no injuries as a result of the fire.
Following the completion of the preliminary investigation, Thursday morning's fire is considered suspicious at this time, stated the regional fire chief.
Bonnyville RCMP are seeking witnesses and are asking anyone who may have information regarding the fire to contact Bonnyville RCMP at 780-343-7200.
Anyone with video surveillance in the surrounding area is asked to check for anything suspicious around the time the fire was reported.
If you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the "P3 Tips" app available through the Apple App or Google Play Store.
Give fire crews space
Fighting fires in winter poses additional challenges for first responders.
Heney noted that during Thursday’s fire, responders spent far too much time directing residents away from the scene.
“This morning, there was a point where we really had to put a concerted effort into parking emergency vehicles in the area in a way that people couldn't go by because the fire just seemed to draw people like flies,” said Heney.
“Everybody wanted to come down and have a look and eventually we had the Town put up barricades because we were spending more time trying to stop traffic than we were fighting the fire.”
During winter, crews deal with very harsh conditions from using water and equipment in sub-zero conditions. This can put firefighters and community observers at greater risk from the slick and slippery road conditions created by run-off water.
“When we're fighting fires in the wintertime like this, you're spraying water around so you're making ice with all the snow that we had, you pack it down and it makes some really icy slippery conditions pretty much all the way around,” he explained.
“If people want to come watch that's fine, just watch from a distance and give all of our folks the chance to stay 100 per cent safe and be completely focused on fighting the fire rather than watching to make sure that traffic isn't trying to sneak by a fire truck.”
