A fire at a small Newfoundland town's fire station Wednesday night resulted
in large explosions and forced the evacuation of about 70 nearby homes.
A Baie Verte town worker noticed the fire at about 7:30 p.m. and told Mayor
Gerald Acreman. The mayor tried to activate the emergency pager system, but
it's based in the fire hall and had already been damaged in the blaze.
So he then started calling volunteers individually.
Acreman said the building was already fully engulfed and there was nothing
they could do.
"It was absolutely raging, so you couldn't get close to do anything at all,"
Acreman said.
He had called neighbouring fire departments for help, but most are about
15-20 minutes away. Baie Verte is a community of 1,300 people located on the
north coast of Newfoundland.
Two fire trucks and the rest of the department's equipment were destroyed in
the blaze.
The burning trucks and oxygen cylinders caused large explosions, which
prompted officials to evacuate many nearby homes and businesses.
Acreman said people in the community are very upset. He said whenever the
department needs to buy new equipment, there are community fundraisers to
collect the cash.
"They've seen now it's all gone up in smoke," he said. "Now we have to start
from scratch."
News of fundraising efforts was posted on a Facebook group Thursday and
Acreman said other communities on the island have offered help and
equipment.
Wednesday's blaze was the second recent one to destroy a fire department
facility. A wood building used for training burned down on Nov. 21.
Despite the costly loss and the rebuilding effort ahead, Acreman is just
thankful nobody was injured.
"All the rest is metal and screws, which we can replace."
