MELFORT – The Melfort Fire Department was dispatched to a building fire within city limits on Oct. 21. The building is a total loss and one firefighter suffered heat exhaustion.
Leonard Whitney, Melfort Fire chief/Emergency Measures Coordinator, said that on Oct. 21 at 7:59 p.m., Melfort Fire Department was paged out to reports of a structure fire. Sixteen firefighters responded to the call at 108 Burns Ave West.
When crews arrived on the scene, the building was fully engulfed and threatening nearby structures.
The nearby residences were evacuated and crews started spraying with two engines.
“Five - 1.5” hand lines and one 2.5” monitor were deployed. The fire was contained quickly,” said Whitney.
An excavator was also called in to pull the building down so crews could access all areas that were still burning under the tin roof. The Melfort Fire Department crews were on scene for seven hours.
Whitney said one firefighter was treated on scene by EMS for heat exhaustion. The building was a total loss but all surrounding structures were undamaged.
Whitney said that there is no apparent cause of the fire at this time.
