LA RONGE, Sask. – Firefighters in a northern Saskatchewan town battled an industrial fire for hours on Wednesday afternoon.
According to the Rob Pacey, the La Ronge Regional Fire Department deputy chief, someone driving by La Ronge, Sask’s industrial park noticed the fire at Lee’s Construction around 12:15 p.m. CT and called 911.
“There was smoke coming out of the roof and out of the eaves,” Pacey said.
It took seven-and-a-half hours to put out the fire. Although the blaze engulfed the entire shop, Pacey said they were able to keep it contained to one building.
Pacey said the fire has been the biggest one in the community this year.
“It burned so long because of the contents in the building,” Pacey said.
“There was fuel, equipment, vehicles.”
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Hugh Watt, co-owner of Lee’s construction, said the aftermath of the fire has been tough for his family.
His father Lee Watt, finished building the heavy-equipment repair shop in 1978. His mother, Lou Watt, helped run a restaurant attached to the building until 1982.
“She spent many days cooking in the restaurant,” Watt said.
“Back in the day, there were many burgers and meals cooked there.”
Watt was on his lunch break when the fire broke out. By the time he got back, he noticed black smoke coming out of one of the overhead doors.
He was unable to get into the building, but he called for any employees who may be stuck inside. Fortunately, all of the employees had gone home for lunch.
Watt and his brother were able to move some equipment near the exterior of the shop out of the way before the firefighters arrived. During the fire, a Peterbilt truck, a bulldozer and other equipment in the building were lost.
The company employs about 14 people. None of the them were injured.
“It will definitely affect four of us for sure,” Watt said.
“They’re loyal employees and I will do everything in my power to relocate temporarily until we’re able to rebuild.”
He said the building was the first one in the industrial park and has been a fixture in the local community.
“It’s been kind of nice getting phone calls from a lot of different people within the community that brought back old stories,” Watt said.
“It’s an icon that’s no longer here unfortunately.”
The fire is still under investigation and the building is considered a total loss.
“We do have to carry on,” Watt said.
