A blaze in the western Manitoba community of Rapid City Monday consumed the local fire hall and town office. RCMP confirmed Tuesday that the cause of the fire was electrical in nature and is not considered suspicious.
Among the losses was a new tanker truck, which the town had fundraised for two years to purchase.
“Licensed Friday. We put it into service yesterday. It never even got out of the hall,” said Chief Morley Cornish from Rapid City’s fire department.
It was one of two vehicles destroyed when the fire ripped through the building.
Shortly after 12 a.m. Oct. 21, someone noticed smoke coming from the building and alerted the fire chief. Volunteer firefighters rushed to the scene but couldn’t save the structure, with their equipment still inside it.
“It was devastating…we couldn't do anything. Everything was in the hall,” said Cornish.
Emergency crews were called in from nearby Minnedosa and Rivers. Rapid City is located about 40 km north of Brandon.
The loss of the town hall is also a major setback for the community of just under 500 people.
"Small towns are pretty special. We're a big community, a big family. You'll have people coming here in tears. People lost a part of them,” said Mayor Orest Woloski.
Town employees sorted through the rubble looking for anything that could be salvaged later Monday.
Unable to immediately open the safe because its doors warped from the heat, they're hopeful historical documents and backup hard drives were spared inside it from the flames. In 1909, the town lost its early records in another fire.
The town’s fire department must rebuild from scratch after Monday’s blaze. In the meantime, three neighbouring municipalities will cover the town's emergency calls.
“We're going to suffer because we don't have (those) service anymore for a while,” said the mayor.
