Firefighters with the PAFD had to work quickly Tuesday afternoon to stop the fire in the cabin of a fuel truck from spreading to the tank. (Facebook/PAFD)

By Glenn Hicks

fuel fire

Fuel truck fire potentially ‘very dangerous’ incident

Sep 11, 2019 | 3:41 PM

As the investigation continues into the cause of Tuesday afternoon’s high-profile fuel truck fire near the city’s main shopping area, the Prince Albert Fire Department (PAFD), as well as the manager of the depot where it happened, are reflecting on what could have been a far worse outcome.

“I was mopping the floor and saw smoke going by and it was all on fire,” Sheldon Klischuk with Millsap Distributors told paNOW. He said the cause of the blaze in the cabin of the medium-sized fuel truck was a mystery because the vehicle had been parked for about two hours and the driver had gone home for the day.

“It wasn’t something that would happen in a truck that was moving. It was stationary,” Klischuk said. He added he was looking forward to finding out how the truck caught fire and noted the driver wasn’t too happy when he heard about the destruction of the vehicle later.

The company has a fleet of trucks at their 13^th St. E. location near Cornerstone that transport Petro Canada fuel around the region to farms and forestry companies. They each have a capacity of 1,800 litres. Klischuk said the one that caught fire was near empty.

Crews with the PAFD responded to the blaze within three minutes, according to acting deputy chief Alex Paul. It happened at 5 p.m. at the height of rush hour so many people were driving past or slowing to look, or even to take pictures.

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“Absolutely this was a potentially dangerous situation,” Paul told paNOW. “Left unchecked, if this had happened out on the highway or further from our response area, that fire could have built to the point where it involved the fuel tank itself.”

Paul said firefighters equipped with breathing apparatus were able to tackle the fire very quickly with a mixture of water and foam. And he said the crew was cognizant of the urgency and perils of the situation.

“They were well aware of that and took actions to make sure it didn’t spread to the tank,” he explained.

Paul noted the many photographs of the incident that had been shared by the public on social media and reminded everyone about the dangers of being drawn close to a fire like this when diesel fuel and plastics were burning.

“I’d recommend you get away from it. Don’t put yourself in harm’s way in terms of inhaling that toxic smoke and in case of a potential explosion.”

Paul said in any investigation they try to establish the point of origin of the fire and cause and then inform the insurance company.

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glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow