Dysart et al fire chief Dan Chumbley credited Haliburton Foodland staff for quickly evacuating the local store after a delivery truck caught fire early Aug. 2.
Chumbley said the fire department received a call at 8:06 a.m. about a blaze at the downtown grocer. Upon arrival, firefighters saw the cabin of a semi-trailer truck parked beside the building up in flames. “The truck itself was fully involved and the flames were working on the front of the trailer.
The truck itself is a total loss,” Chumbley told The Highlander. “Some of the lids for the dumpsters nearby [also] melted due to the high heat.”
Fourteen volunteer firefighters from Dysart responded, with support provided by the Minden Hills department. Chumbley said the fire was quickly brought under control, with all firefighters leaving the scene before 10 a.m.
He said the fire was first observed below the driver’s door, but the ignition source was uncertain during initial investigation. Manasvi Thakur, spokesperson for Sobeys, which owns the Foodland brand, said an internal investigation into the incident has been launched.
Thakur said staff acted swiftly once the fire broke out, containing it to the vehicle and ensuring the blaze had no impact on the store. Customers were evacuated within minutes, with no injuries reported.
Chumbley said he was pleased to see everyone outside the building when he and his team arrived.
“It was very reassuring to hear the building had been evacuated before our arrival,” Chumbley said.
David Partridge was enjoying an early morning at the Haliburton skate park when he noticed thick plumes of smoke rising about a block away. He went to investigate and found he was the first person on-scene, aside from evacuated shoppers. He took out his phone to snap some photos and attempted to shoot a video when the fire worsened.
“It blew up a couple times while I was nearby and I’ve seen enough fail videos to know when I’m tempting fate, so I bolted back to the skatepark where I barely landed a kickflip,” Partridge said. “It was a pretty wild scene to stumble on.”
Thakur said firefighters had the situation under control within an hour, with the business reopening later that morning.
