Fire destroys Radville town office, firehall and more

A community can change overnight.

A flood rolling through town, a tornado destroying the land, or in the case of Radville, Sask., a fire that destroyed the town office, the fire hall and a town shop.

Now, city officials are left to pick up the pieces.

“It’s just a disaster for the town of Radville,” Rene Bourassa, the mayor of Radville, said. “We just lost our heartbeat right here.”

The buildings were standing for over 100 years, and yet overnight, it was reduced to rubble.

On Nov. 9, 2022, Radville Fire Department, along with the Yellow Grass, Ceylon, and Weyburn fire departments responded to the early morning blaze around 2:30 a.m.

Radville sits about 134 kilometres south of Regina.

The town said no one was injured in the fire, but for the population of nearly a thousand, the loss of their community hub is devastating.

“There’s so much there that’s gone. Over so many years, it’s pretty tough to handle,” Bourassa said.

Radville fire chief Byron Labbie said his volunteer fire crew was initially dispatched to a garage fire, only to realize it was their firehall ablaze when they arrived to get their gear.

He said they managed to pull two pumper trucks and some equipment out of the building before the fire got out of control. However, they did lose their grass fire truck and a new water tanker truck they had received only months ago.

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“As the building collapsed, the tin roof fell on top and it was then just burning inside of itself,” Labbie said. “Now we are trying to assess what we have lost… I wouldn’t want to even guess how much.”

People of all ages have been affected by the fire, including 17-year-old Malcolm Brin, who worked for the town in that very building this past summer.

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“I can still think of the memories and exactly where I’ve been in the building,” Brin said. “It’s weird to see for sure and it’s pretty sad.”

As the town begins the cleanup process, they have set up a temporary town office people can access. The fire department is also still partially active with Ceylon, Sask., Yellow Grass and Tribune, Sask., helping to cover anything that comes up.

Mayor Bourassa said there are many conversations to have when it comes to next steps in rebuilding but knowing there is support from the community makes it a little easier.

“Good thing we got a strong community and surrounding area,” he said. “We have a 100-mile radius that’s very tight.”

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