The County of Grande Prairie Regional Fire Service has been dispatched to multiple structure fires in the past 48 hours. These calls for service have occurred during extremely cold temperatures.  

Starting Sunday morning, fire crews responded to a shop on fire northeast of Teepee Creek. Upon arrival on, crews found the shop was engulfed in flames. Fire crews worked all morning to prevent the spread and extinguish the fire. No one was harmed. The cause of this fire is still under investigation.  

“The severely cold weather during this event presented challenges to personnel,” stated Bart Johnson, Deputy Fire Chief of Operations.  

“Generally, our water tenders’ stage on the road by the fire and are called in to offload their tank as needed. In this instance, the trucks were freezing up, so they were staged in the Teepee Creek Fire Station and the shop at Matco Industries to keep warm and be close by when they were needed. We are very grateful for the support from Matco Industries,” said Johnson.  

During this fire, back-fill crews also responded to a vehicle fire on Highway 43 east of Clairmont. No one was harmed.  

On Monday, Feb. 8, the Regional Fire Service was dispatched to a chimney fire on 101 Avenue in Clairmont. Crews contained the fire to the chimney preventing extension to the rest of the home or exposures. No one was harmed.  

On Tuesday, Feb. 9, the fire crews provided mutual aid to the Grovedale Fire Department, responding to a chimney fire. No one was harmed.  

Shortly after this incident, County Regional Fire Service responded to a mobile home fire west of Sexsmith on Range Road 65. The mobile home resident had attempted to thaw water lines underneath their home using an tourch, which resulted in the fire. Crews quickly extinguished the fire, limiting damage to the structure. No one was harmed.  

Regional Fire Service reminds residents to practise the following safety measures:  

  • Ensure chimneys are kept clean, the wood burned is dry and seasoned and the amount of wood used is within the manufacturer specifications.  
  • Do not use devices with open flames such as torches to thaw frozen water lines. The use of gas and electric heaters as well as heat guns, portable heating devices with no open flame can be used for safer outcomes.  
  • If a fire does occur always immediately call 911.  

“During the cold, especially in response areas manned by volunteers, response times may be longer as it takes more time to get their personal vehicle running and safely thawed to respond to the fire station. This is exasperated in cases of extreme weather that we are currently experiencing. The earlier the notification, the more efficient the response,” Jason Nesbitt, Deputy Fire Chief. 

Information provided by the County of Grande Prairie.