Officials in two different rural municipalities say they still have concerns about a fire that took place at Canadian Forces Detachment Dundurn and warn that they’re all playing with fire if nothing changes in response to this latest close call.
When the fire happened on the evening of April 28, area residents say they became worried about what was happening and if it would be catastrophic. All the while, they waited on word from the military camp on whether or not to evacuate, but heard nothing.
“It was the fear our residents had not knowing what was actually going on. That is a huge concern to myself, our police department, and administration,” said Judy Harwood, the reeve for Corman Park.
“We had no idea what was happening.”
Corman Park has an alert system on their website for residents but didn’t issue anything due to lack of information. They received 38 phone calls from residents that evening as the fire crept closer.
“There could be a lot more communication, especially when it’s their activities that are effecting other people,” said Fred Baran, deputy reeve for Dundurn.
“We seem to find out about them after the fact.”
WATCH BELOW: Dundurn military base fire leaves area residents feeling frustrated
The lack of overall communication has been a huge point of contention ever since the fire occurred. There is also confusion on exact cause of the blaze.
Trevor Reid, the reeve for Dundurn, said he was told by the commanding officer at the base that it was not one, but two fires that had occurred that day.
“One was deliberately set and one was due to a training mission that was taking place.”
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Reid says it’s still unclear which fire got out of hand.
The Canadian Armed Forces has declined to provide a comment on the origin of the fire, after telling Global News that a local business has requested compensation in relation to the fire.
“In keeping with standard practice, relevant information is being gathered and reviewed, including any investigations from military authorities that will inform our assessment and next steps to appropriately resolve this matter.”
At the time of the fire, the Canadian Armed Forces maintained they were always under control and the fire did not jump the substantial fireguard surrounding the entire perimeter of the National Defence land.
The fires have reignited town officials’ fears. Baran says the base is a huge barrier to Dundurn fire crews, who can’t protect certain residents in a timely fashion because they say they can’t cut across detachment lands.
“The solution that we’ve asked for is turn one of the road allowances back to us. We gave up all the road allowances on the promise of one road being left open.”
Right now, fire crews are forced to go around the military camp, which means responding to the northwest corner of the municipality could take as long as 45 minutes.
Baran says that’s proven too long in the past, with crews arriving only to find a smoldering pile of rubble.
The municipality is now asking that the base open up one of these two roads so they can respond quicker. There is an memorandum of understanding with the Saskatoon Fire Department to provide coverage but only if they have the resources available.
Whitecap has a volunteer fire department but the municipality says it shouldn’t have to rely on others to come to the rescue, and taxpayers in Dundurn often ask what they’re paying taxes for.
“The time getting to and from the area is the concern and any route that’s shorter is the most desirable one.” said Baran.
According to the Canadian Armed Forces, continuous unrestricted public access through the site just isn’t possible due to security and safety concerns.
At no time has it knowingly put the health and safety of its civilian neighbours in danger by denying access to a fire response.
It also says while there may not be open access across the detachment for emergency services, no request to pass across has ever been denied to their knowledge.
Strathcona Trail is not closed, but it’s not built to civilian standards, or able to sustain heavy use. Nonetheless, the military says an agreement is in place to allow emergency vehicles and authorities through from Dundurn at any time as long as there is an escort.
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