INNISFAIL - Firefighters from Bowden and Innisfail were called to the southbound lanes of the Queen Elizabeth II Highway early in the evening of Sept. 26 to battle a hay bale fire that erupted on a semi truck trailer.
"It was fully evolved on our arrival. The driver had managed to disconnect his tractor unit so his trailer was there on the shoulder," said Gary Leith, fire chief of the Innisfail Fire Department.
He said his fire hall received the call at about 6 p.m. on Sept. 26 that a semi truck trailer, carrying 30 hay bales, was on fire on Highway 2 just south of the Highway 54 overpass.
Leith said nine Innisfail firefighters and six from Bowden were called to the scene. They were aided by three tankers -- two from Innisfail and one from Bowden, as well as one engine, two bush trucks, and a pair of command trucks.
The three tankers were continuously refilled with water, including at the Bowden Fire Hall, to help the firefighting effort.
"During those four hours we probably used in the region of 30 to 40 thousand gallons of water on this fire. We were running back and forth with the three tankers to apply water for the firefighting," said Leith, adding a Bowden-area farmer came to the scene with a front-end loader and assisted by off-loading the burning hay bales for the firefighters. "Because they are hay bales it is pretty laborious and time-consuming to turn them around and break them open and actually extinguish the fire."
Leith said it took four hours to finally extinguish the blaze. During that entire time southbound traffic on Highway 2 was redirected onto Highway 2A.
"Crews from Innisfail and Bowden worked hard to get the fire under control and finally extinguished and we were still out there this morning (Sept. 27) dealing with mopping up and hot spots," said Leith, adding no injuries were sustained by the semi truck's occupants, but an Innisfail firefighter did have a knee injury. He said the firefighter was taken to Innisfail Health Centre for treatment.
Leith said the cause of the blaze is not known. He added the fire is under investigation, but finding out more could be problematic as the vehicle sustained significant damage.
"It is highly likely I am not going to be able to pinpoint the exact cause," he said.
