PCES responds to bale fire, flare-up at trailer park

Chris Davis

Bale fire

On March 14 at approximately 7:00 pm Pincher Creek Emergency Services (PCES) was called to the scene of a bale fire at a location approximately 3 miles east of the Halifax School in the Halifax Flats area, northeast of Pincher Creek.

According to PCES Chief Dave Cox, upon arriving at the scene it was discovered the rancher had managed to pull some bales away from the fire, but the situation was significant enough to warrant PCES asking for assistance.

Darin Kay assists with hay bale fire 
Jordan Strachan Reed photo

As it turned out, crews were on scene for a long time.

Pincher Creek responded with Engine 11 and a tender. Cowley Fire, the MD of Pincher Creek, Peigan Fire, and Lundbreck Fire responded with a tender each.  At the height of the situation 3 engines, 4 tenders, and approximately 15 personnel were on scene.  Chief Cox said there were a lot of bales involved, and the rancher assisted by using a tractor to pull bales from the stack, spreading them out to be extinguished by the fire crews.

Chief Cox estimated 25 to 30 thousand gallons of water were used before the fire was extinguished at about 3:30 am, 8.5 hours after PCES first responded to the situation.

Small flare up at Foothills Trailer Park

PCES dousing a hot spot at Foothills Trailer Park
Lloyd Lybbert photos

At approximately 2:30 pm March 15 PCES was called to the Foothills Trailer Park in Pincher Creek, to the scene of the mobile home fires that happened there on January 14 of this year. "It was nothing very serious," said Chief Cox, explaining that a clean-up crew at the site pulled one of the destroyed trailers up, exposing a hot spot beneath it to the air, causing a small reignition which PCES dealt with quickly once on scene.