By The Town of Kindersley, April 25, 2016
Three Kindersley families have been impacted by the loss of two homes and almost all contents from the large blaze that spread rapidly Friday evening, April 22, on West Road. Fortunately, there were no injuries of family members or emergency responders.
The Kindersley Fire Department was dispatched at 7:55 p.m. on Friday evening, April 22, to attend to a 911 reported structure/deck fire on West Road.
Twelve crew members arrived on scene to discover the fire had spread to the back and deck of the neighbouring home to the west. With winds gusting as high as 65 km per hour, a second call was made for additional assistance, and by 8:07 p.m., a request was sent for mutual aid from Kerrobert and Eatonia fire departments. The provincial Rapid Response Team was also dispatched to Kindersley to be on standby for assistance but was later contacted to stand down after the blaze was brought under control.
At the height of the fire there were four apparatus working with the fire with more than 30 firefighters battling the blaze. Kindersley Fire Department deployed over 3000 feet of fire hose, used 14 tanks of breathing air and 14 pails of 20 litre fire suppressant foam. Kerrobert and Eatonia provided a total of three additional apparatus.
By 9:19 p.m., the fire was contained to the two homes, and later declared to be under control by 9:40 p.m. Firefighters were able to enter the buildings by 10:10 p.m. to extinguish spot fires. The fire was deemed fully extinguished by 1:52 a.m., Saturday April 23, with all units leaving the scene six hours after the initial call.
A thorough investigation into the cause of the fire and involving the Kindersley Fire Department, the Provincial Office of the Fire Commissioner, and independent insurance investigators began early Saturday morning, April 23, and concluded Sunday, April 24, at 3:15 p.m.
The cause of the fire has been officially ruled as accidental.
The Kindersley Fire Department and Town of Kindersley offer many thanks to the Kerrobert and Eatonia Fire Departments and to past members of the fire service who showed up on scene to assist in the battle, as well as members of the RCMP who conducted evacuations, delivered supplies and also assisted in attending to hose lines. Thanks also to Town of Kindersley staff who supplied resources and personnel, both during the fire and following; to the Red Cross for providing local disaster relief assistance to the families; and to the Kindersley Traumatic Emergency Response Team for their support for the family members. A special thank you as well to the members of our community who have reached out to help the families in a number of different ways.
We extend our condolences and continued support to the families whose homes were lost in Friday’s blaze. The Town of Kindersley has been notified of private fundraising campaigns to support the affected families. Pledges can be made online at gofundme.com.