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Nov 03, 2024
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An automotive shop is a total loss in the town of Davidson following a Saturday morning blaze.
Fire crews were dispatched out around 2 a.m. Saturday, immediately starting an aggressive attack on the Railway Ave. structure.
Power and natural gas needed to be disconnected for the crews, according to Davidson Volunteer Fire Department Chief Don Willner.
“We had to wait some time for SaskPower to come in and shut the line down as the building was still live, and right adjacent to the building in the back alley was our main power lines in town, as well as all the phone lines,” Willner told 650 CKOM Sunday.
The town of Davidson lost one of its two automotive shops in a Saturday morning blaze on Aug. 1, 2020. (Facebook/Davidson Volunteer Fire Department)
No one was injured, including the volunteer fire department and a neighbouring crew from Craik, it responded due to the severity of the blaze.
“We were inside for about an hour with three teams, trying to cool it down and slow the fire. But once it got into the ceiling, we couldn’t stop it,” Willner explained.
“Everyone was able to leave (the) scene exhausted but safe.”
Willner says crews remained on the scene from 2 a.m. to 1 p.m. the following afternoon. They then had to circle back from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. to extinguish two remaining hot spots.
In addition to the blaze in the main facility, a single detached garage also caught fire.
Willner says his department had dealt with a similar fire two years ago, where three structures were involved at the same time.
He still said with limited resources in the community, handling large blazes usually requires help from neighbouring departments.
Willner was happy with how his crews responded to the fire, along with the help.
“We do the best that we can with what we’ve got, I’m pretty happy with the job that my guys did along with Craik Fire (Department),” he said.
Along with Craik Fire Department, SaskPower, SaskEnergy, RCMP and EMS remained on-scene for the duration of the incident.
The community also pitched in, according to Willner, helping the crews push through the marathon battle.
“We had people bring us coffee towards the end and some breakfast to keep the guys goin’. We really appreciated that,” he said.
Local farmers also lent a helping hand with extra water on-scene, just in case the fire increased in severity.
Willner says he believes the loss of the repair shop will create a void in the small town.
“It’s a huge loss to the town of Davidson. It’s one of two automotive repair shops left in town. With it being gone, it really takes away from the services that the community can offer to all the people and the surrounding areas,” he said.
“Unfortunately, it’ll take people away from town.”
Davidson is located 115 km southeast of Saskatoon on Highway 11 and 144 km northwest of Regina along Highway 11.