FORT FRANCES – On Saturday at 2:20 a.m., the Alberton Volunteer Fire Department put out a call to Fort Frances, La Vallee, Emo, and Couchiching First Nation fire departments to aid them with a large structural fire at the New Gold storage garage on Highway 11.
Acting fire Chief James Woods told Newswatch he was the first one on scene as the roof on the New Gold bus depot “was already collapsing on itself.”
Woods said the entire building was a complete loss, including two coaches and two modified buses. The buses are used to transport New Gold employees to the Rainy River mine site.
The Fort Frances Fire Rescue Service provided an aerial apparatus and access to town hydrants, according to Woods, which included 300 gallons of water from the municipal supply.
No injuries were reported. Firefighters extinguished the blaze by approximately 4 p.m.
Woods said that while they were in contact with the Office of the Fire Marshal's Emergency Preparedness and Response Unit, they had declined to send an investigator and the fire's cause was deemed undetermined.
“We're leaving it at undetermined for now unless new evidence comes out. The OPP has made contact with some of the neighbouring businesses for surveillance camera footage if it's accessible, but at this time it's not deemed suspicious,” Woods said.
Woods believes the incident highlights the importance of cooperation and teamwork in emergencies.
“I think what we want to do is convey our gratitude to all of our firefighters because we had firefighters from four different communities show up and support us.
"The operation was successful with Fort Frances accessing their hydrants because it's on the edge of town - it made such a difference for us. With their ladder, their aerial ladder truck and the hydrant access, we were able to flow a rough estimate of 360,000 gallons,” Woods said.
