An investigator was on scene Monday to determine the cause of a blaze that destroyed a portion of The Tire Shop on the outskirts of Flin Flon.
The office and display portion of the long-running business succumbed to flames this past Sunday morning, Feb. 28, though it could have been much worse.
“The actual garage portion of the building was saved, and the storage facility behind was saved, so the only part of the building that burned was the part that was fully involved [when firefighters arrived],” said Fire Chief Jim Petrie. “[Firefighters] did an excellent job of saving the rest.
“For the size of the fire, and the severity of it, the boys did an excellent job of cutting the fire off, absolutely excellent.”
A 911 call notified fire-fighters of the blaze shortly before 10 am on Sunday. Sixteen Flin Flon firefighters, with help from members of the Hudbay Fire Department, responded.
Located on Highway 10, 1.4 km past the 10A turnoff, The Tire Shop is not connected to the city water grid. As such, pumper trucks shuttled back and forth between the fire hall and the fire scene so firefighters could replenish their water tanks.
An investigator from the Office of the Fire Commissioner examined the scene on Monday, with the cause of the fire to be determined.
Petrie said items in the destroyed section of the building included tires and batteries, resulting in heavy, toxic smoke.
“When I got there you could hear all the batteries popping – exploding, actually,” he said.
No one was in the building at the time of the fire, to Petrie’s knowledge. No injuries were reported among firefighters or anyone else.
The Tire Shop is eligible for fire protection because it is within city boundaries. City of Flin Flon firefighters no longer respond to fires outside of city limits.
