Thick black smoke spreading over Estevan on Aug. 14 could be seen from miles away. The smoke was coming from the Regens Metals scrap yard.
And while it was initially reported as a controlled burn, the situation went out of control quite fast and required Estevan Fire Rescue Service (EFRS) assistance.
“At approximately 6:30 Friday evening we were dispatched to a fire in a yard of business on the southeast side of the city,” said Estevan Deputy Fire Chief Rick Davies.
After talking to the employees that were on scene, it was deemed definitely not a controlled fire. Crews were dispatched to the location and successfully extinguished the fire with the assistance of the employees running heavy equipment. Firefighters were back to the station at about 11 p.m.
As firefighters were working at the scene, two other calls came in, alerting them about a possible fire near Affinity Place and another possible grass fire south of the city along Highway 47.
“Crews did respond to both of those calls, and nothing was found. We deemed them probably being from that smoke,” said Davies.
The incident is still under investigation. The initial report said that it was wood that was planned to be burned, but the fire got into some tires, which would have resulted in the black smoke.
Aug. 13 also saw firefighters attending a scene where a residential carbon monoxide (CO) alarm went off. The incident occurred at about 4 p.m. on the northwest side of the city.
“There were preliminary findings of CO readings in the basement,” said Davies.
As soon as the alarm went off, people evacuated the building. Crews established ventilation and ensured that the readings were down to normal levels. Gas-powered equipment that was used in the house by a contractor is believed to be the source of CO. There were no reports of injuries or anyone getting sick.
On Aug. 16, Davies, who was the duty officer for the weekend, also responded to a call for assistance. A transformer was leaking on Fourth Street, so Davies attended and assisted SaskPower with traffic control to allow them to do clean-up and repairs safely.
