BRACEBRIDGE, ON – In the aftermath of a massive fire at Muskoka Timber Mills, the camaraderie of firefighters has come to the forefront.
With Bracebridge fire crews maxed out at the scene of the fire at 2152 Manitoba Street, volunteer firefighters from Gravenhurst and Township of Muskoka Lakes Fire Departments have provided additional hands to the pump.
While the fire is effectively out, all the wood that has been burned is now turned into charcoal, with red-hot embers still burning where the eye cannot see.
As a result crews continue to pour water onto the blaze. Backhoes and other heavy equipment will begin pulling the fire apart to gain better access. For many firemen, the all-nighter they have pulled is what they signed on for, but some may have to go back to their regular day job.
Chief Murray Medley told CTV News last night that water may have to be poured onto the fire for a few days before it is considered officially out.
MyMuskokaNow.com was at the Bracebridge fire hall on Taylor Road this morning where a small crew from Huntsville and Lake of Bays Fire Department was deployed as cover when a fourth call for service in 24 hours came in. A smoking generator in a building saw a Bracebridge truck and crew pulled from the Muskoka Timber Mills incident to assess what ultimately was some smoke and not much more.
The Huntsville crew were then re-deployed to the fire scene. What is required now is quite different from when 60 crew and nearly a dozen trucks descended on the scene just after 7:30pm last night.
The trickiest part of the fire was the water supply. Pumper trucks had to do round trips of approximately 15 minutes to a nearby neighbourhood that had hydrants. According to a firefighter filling a truck on McNabb Street this morning, it takes about three to four minutes to fill a truck and then another five-minute drive to get it back to the scene.
“I personally have done 30 or so trips overnight,” he said. He estimated collectively there had been well over a hundred trips delivering water to the fire.
The Bracebridge firefighter was showing his Gravenhurst counterpart where the water supply was before getting a well-earned break and some food and water of his own.
As for the impact on Muskoka Timber Mills, the business is a massive multi-hectare operation. The main business side of it was well away from the blaze and staff were at their desks this morning answering phones and dealing with the aftermath of the fire. What burned were metal storage units that essentially keep processed wood out of the elements.
MyMuskokaNow.com has put an interview request into owner Ric Signor.