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A structure fire in the wash bays of the Esso Service Station in Battleford took five hours to suppress for fire crews. (Larry Romanow)
Structure Fire

Battleford fire crews respond to blaze at Esso Station

Jan 26, 2021 | 11:56 AM

A staple of the drive from the Town of Battleford to the City of North Battleford was ablaze early Tuesday morning.

Shortly after midnight, Battleford Fire Department responded to a structure fire at the Esso Service Station, off of Highway 4 in Battleford. The fire had breached the ceiling and two of the washer bays at the station, causing the roof to collapse. Fire Chief Larry Gabruch said the crews were able to contain the flames within the bays before it could enter the store, stopping it at the ceiling. However, the blaze disconnected services from power and gas.

“We were able to prevent major losses to the inside of the store,” Gabruch said. “But much of the merchandise will be destroyed because it will be frozen now.”

Twenty firefighters were on scene, managing to suppress the fire by 5:30 a.m., following a lengthy battle to keep the flames from spreading from the wash bays. Gabruch said it was a difficult blaze to deal with for the crew, given the weather conditions. There were several hot spots to wrestle with and the tar roof collapsing provided more difficulty, as well as reduced visibility. Crew members also had to rotate in waves, in order to get a reprieve from the conditions.

“Of course, our firemen were freezing up rapidly and water freezes instantaneously when it’s this cold, so we could never shut off our lines [throughout the incident],” Gabruch said.

It will be difficult to ascertain the fire’s origin, given the ice build up in the hours since its suppression. However, the initial spark should be somewhere in the wash bays, where Gabruch said it’s possibly a unit heater that was just turned on that evening, based on his conversation with the station manager and where the heater was located in relation to the flames.

“It kind of lines up with where the fire had breached the ceiling,” he said.

There was also a car in one of the bays, which likely provided some fuel to the fire.

Further investigation will be required in the coming days of slightly warmer weather, involving the cooperation of other resources, including the gas inspector and insurance company. Gabruch said he’s pleased with the efforts of his crew and will continue dialogue with store management.

“When you have roof collapse, it makes it very difficult to get underneath to extinguish any hot spots,” he said. “It dragged it out, but we are pretty pleased we were able to save the store portion.”

At this time, there are no reported injuries to any individuals.

The aftermath of the Esso fire. (Josh Ryan/battlefordsNOW)

josh.ryan@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JoshRyanSports

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