A fire broke out in a Niverville warehouse during the afternoon of Thursday, April 23. The structure on Heritage Trail, adjacent to the railway tracks and south of Main Street, was deemed a complete loss. Owned by Rod Friesen, the building was used primarily for storage. No one was injured as a result of the fire.
“[The fire] was started in the building in a semi that was having work done on it,” says Niverville Fire Chief Keith Beuckert, who adds
that the fire was intensely hot. “Two more vehicles were in the shop too, which fuelled the fire.”
According to Bueckert, the initial 911 dispatcher incorrectly contacted the New Bothwell Fire Department first.
“Not sure why this happened, but New Bothwell corrected the dispatchers and Niverville was called,” says Bueckert. He says that the mix-up is being investigated. “From the time Niverville was called ‘til [firefighters were] on the scene was four and a half minutes.”
Due to high winds, grass fires started up in the ditches next to the railway tracks. The Ritchot Fire Department assisted in putting those out, in addition to lending manpower to fighting the main fire.
Bueckert reports that the fire was under control in under an hour, although firefighters remained on the scene longer to monitor a gas line break which was caused by the collapse of the building’s south wall. Also, because the fire was so intense, priority was immediately given to defend the neighbouring building on the north side.
“We had ten firefighters on scene almost right away from Niverville, so we had an aggressive defensive fire attack.” Bueckert adds that the recently installed fire hydrants on Main Street were used for the first time. “[The] water was a huge help and worked great.”
