RM of STAR CITY 鈥� A recent structure fire in the RM of Star City, which collapsed a two story garage, is believed to be accidental, according to Shaun Stewart, Melfort鈥檚 fire chief.
The fire, on Feb. 6, collapsed the garage before fire crews could arrive, and took the life of a family pet.
鈥淲e have a suspicion of what it was, but due to the extensive damage to the building we can鈥檛 really determine that, but it鈥檚 not deemed suspicious at this time,鈥� Stewart said. 鈥淓verything points to an accidental fire.鈥�
Firefighters responded at 4:44 a.m. after a call from the household.
Crews engaged the flames with water and foam along the perimeter of the fire to stop any potential spread to other buildings or vehicles. Stewart said the wind was a valuable help for this.聽
鈥淭he way the wind was blowing, there was nothing that was in danger at all鈥� even the trees right beside it up-wind.鈥�
Once the fire was contained, crews started to work toward the interior, eventually extinguishing it.
When Stewart was asked if there鈥檚 a message he would like to get out, he pointed to safety around heating apparatuses in outdoor buildings this time of year.
鈥淧eople, just be careful when we get really, really cold weather like that as to what sort of heat sources they might be using in other buildings,鈥� he said, adding that this includes checking on the devices, and making sure proper gauges are being used.
鈥淚f they are going to use a heater of some sort, make sure it鈥檚 the right size for the area.鈥�
Stewart clarified that the garage fire wasn鈥檛 necessarily caused by a heating apparatus, but rather this is an important message to get out under current temperature conditions.
鈥淪ometimes people are trying to keep pipes warm in this kind of weather so they don鈥檛 freeze. We had a couple other little calls we had to go to and it was due to heat tape that was wrapped around some pipes,鈥� he said.
鈥淲hen it gets really cold like that these things tend to run, and run, and run, and never really get time to get shut off and cooled down.鈥�
