(Photo courtesy/Nipawin Fire, Facebook)

By Ben Tompkins

Pickup Truck Ablaze

Nipawin Fire Chief credits dispatchers for success of vehicle fire response

Aug 3, 2023 | 3:00 PM

Morning coffee was interrupted for the Nipawin Fire Department (NFD) on Wednesday, as they were called out to a vehicle fire, northwest of the Village of Love.

At about 8 a.m., firefighters were dispatched to a grid road to deal with a single red pick-up truck that had started on fire.

“Once we arrived there, certainly the truck was well on fire, smoke was visible from a few miles away,” explained Chief of the NFD, Paul Cockell. “Once the truck was able to get up on scene fairly quickly, we were able to put the fire out. The use of water and foam certainly speeds that process up, and really from there, it was just a matter of looking for hotspots.”

Fortunately, the driver was able to pull over and escape uninjured before the truck was entirely overrun by flames.

(Photo courtesy/Nipawin Fire, Facebook)

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Cockell told northeastNOW that it’s definitely a calmer situation for him and his team when no one is in imminent danger.

“It does certainly bring that adrenaline level down when we’re going to be going to a fire but I don’t have to worry about life safety right now, there is no one else involved and the fire is not spreading, that really does make our lives a lot easier,” he said

“As we’re driving from in town to out into the RM, you’ve got that time in between, so that’s where our dispatchers really do the heavy lifting for us. I’m constantly calling, looking for updates on the radio, and they’re able to either call back or they’re on the phone with this person, and they can relay that information to us.”

When they arrived, Nipawin firefighters were able to quickly knock down the fire with a hose line and foam.

(Photo courtesy/Nipawin Fire, Facebook)

Currently, the cause of the fire is unknown and the department doesn’t believe any suspicious activity occurred.

The fire took roughly 15-20 minutes to respond to (from time of call to arrival), with the department thanking the public for their efforts.

“The NFD thanks all the drivers who pulled over and stopped to let emergency crews pass on both sides of the road this morning,” the department said in a Facebook post. “It makes driving these vehicles, often weighing over 40,000 lbs when full of water, much less stressful not having to maneuver around traffic at high speeds!”

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