In just the few minutes it took Brandon Thompson to go from his father-in-law’s garage to the house, and back to the garage, the few flames licking at the door of the garage across the alleyway had turned into a raging inferno.
The fire, fed by material in the garage as well as a steady wind, devoured the double garage and two vehicles before it was put out by the Stettler Regional Fire Department.
The fire department used both on-ground firefighters and the aerial to spray water on the blazing-hot orange and red flames, which billowed out across the alleyway to lick at overhead powerlines.
The heat from the fire caused water on neighbouring structures and the ground to evaporate into steam, and Thompson and his in-laws, Bill and Susan Barnes, watched nervously as their garage steamed.
However, the fire department quickly got the blaze under control, saving nearby homes and structures, though not fast enough to save the garage or the two trucks, which were burned through by the fire.
According to Amanda Spensley with the fire department, no one was injured in the blaze, which took about two hours to put out completely. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.
It’s not something the neighbours are going to forget, though.
“It was amazing how fast it happened,” Thompson said. “I haven’t seen anything like that.”