Alida firefighters battle weekend blaze through brutal cold

A small-town shop was destroyed in a fire over the weekend during a frigid morning.

The oilfield contracting shop in Alida — about 53 km southeast of Carlyle — was warped and melted from a blaze Saturday morning.

(Carnduff Fire and Rescue/Facebook)

Robert McWhirter worked part-time at the shop. He’s also a member of the community’s volunteer fire department and was the first one on the scene.

“It was actually a good thing I was there. Normally, I’m not around on a Saturday, but I was in town working (at my other job) at the time. So, I was able to oversee the operations and guide the … fire department members on what was in that shop as far as content, and the layout and placement of all those items inside,” he explained.

They also called in help from the nearby Carnduff Fire and Rescue department.

McWhirter said it was certainly needed, as it was a major blaze.

“We responded and immediately knew it was going to be a big fire because the whole shop was involved,” he recalled.

It took them about four hours to put out the fire. The vicious cold, with windchills below -40 C, didn’t help the situation.

Thankfully, some generosity from a neighbour helped them fight the fire safely.

“Frostbite was definitely something to watch out for. We had a few members that were out too long that we had to quickly get inside. Luckily, the neighbouring business opened up their welding shop for guys to go in and warm up,” McWhirter said.

(Carnduff Fire and Rescue/Facebook)

“The community really came together on this one.”

Nobody was hurt, but

the damage was extensive.

“There was snow removal equipment inside. Everything was a total loss. There were trucks, payloaders, all kinds of shop supplies … Luckily, one of the trucks was out at the time, so it didn’t get burnt. It was definitely a total loss,” he said.

As for the building itself, it’s beyond being able to repair.

“It was a steel construction building, so it’s still standing, but all of the steel beams are burnt and twisted and bent. It’s definitely a total loss for sure,” he said.