The value of having a mutual aid district was on full display last weekend as firefighters and equipment from across the region helped battle a grain elevator fire in St. Jean Baptiste.
Letellier firefighters were initially called in early Saturday morning, but they were soon followed by members from departments including Morris, Altona, Dominion City, and Emerson.
Help then also came from Winkler with its ladder truck and a water tanker as well as from Morden with another water tanker.
“Everybody did a fantastic job … with the mutual aid district, everybody works so well together,” said Letellier fire Chief Andrew Dixon on Monday.
Emergency crews were called to the elevator around 3:30 a.m., Dixon said. When they arrived, the fire had progressed substantially through the 75-year-old wooden structure.
“It was very involved by the time we got there,” he said. “We had to just keep it contained where it was and not let it spread
“Our department went to help evacuate houses … and the guys set about watering the houses to make sure they were protected.”
Overall, it was a dangerous situation that had to be managed carefully, said Dixon, who noted they eventually were able to get to “start to tear down the building and knock it down.”
“The scene was still active right now [as of Monday],” he noted. “We were there until 10 o’clock Saturday night.”
The site was monitored overnight Saturday and through the next day.
“Overnight the guys had just been dampening down some hot spots,” Dixon explained.
The cause of the fire and estimate of the damage was not yet available. No one was injured.
