Firefighters respond to

numerous calls on April 1

By Kaicheng Xin
Staff Reporter

Clearwater Regional Fire and Rescue Service (CRFRS) crews faced a hectic day on April 14, responding to multiple emergencies, including two grass fires, a vehicle rollover and a residential fire in Rocky Mountain House that damaged a service truck and garage.

The response in town was at a property on 60 Street, with crews arriving shortly after a 911 call reported flames near a garage just past 3 p.m. Fire Chief John Liadis said responders discovered a service truck, parked adjacent to the garage, fully engulfed in fire.

Three fire trucks and multiple crew members were dispatched to the scene. Liadis told The Mountaineer that firefighters contained the blaze within 10 to 15 minutes before focusing on extinguishing hotspots. While the service truck — believed to be where the fire originated — was destroyed and crews minimized damage to the nearby garage which had a partially burned front exterior.

“The crews acted very quickly and kept structural damage to a minimum. The garage itself was not lost,” Liadis emphasized.

There was a loud popping sound during the fire, which Liadis attributed to potential aerosol cans or small propane cylinders in the service truck. No explosions or injuries were reported.

The cause remains under investigation, though Liadis confirmed the fire began with the vehicle.

The incident capped a demanding day for CRFRS as they had already addressed two grass fires and a rollover earlier. Crews were refueling trucks after battling a grass fire when the in-town call forced them to cut short the process.

“They had to stop filling up and rush straight to the scene,” Liadis said. “It was a very busy day for our teams.”
No further details about the grass fires or rollover were immediately released.