Fire destroys abandoned rink in Liberty, Sask., but firefighters save nearby water treatment plant

Fire destroyed an abandoned rink in the village of Liberty, Sask., early Sunday morning, taking with it a lifetime of memories, but sparing the nearby water treatment facility.

"It was a landmark, " said Liberty resident Gordon Shields about the rink.

"We'd rent the hall at Christmas time. Have big family suppers here then go to the rink and play hockey, have some fun and skate around," Shields said.

The fire started at around midnight in the village of about 60 people, located 120 kilometres north of Regina.

That's when Shields, who was reading in bed in his home across the street, heard what sounded like a tornado.

"I thought that was rather weird," he said. "I could see the arena out the window and the west end was totally ablaze."

Shields's wife phoned 911. By the time he was outside, he said it was clear there was no hope for the arena.

What worried Shields morewas that the fire had spread to the roof of the adjacent water treatment plant.

"It was scary. There are chemicals inside there. There's a gas line right behind the pump house. So yeah, it was a dangerous situation."

Shields watched as about 25 volunteer firefighters from Liberty and nearby Imperial, Davidson andHoldfastsoaked the plant's roof and brought the fire under control.

Jennifer Langlois, Liberty's mayor, said the village was lucky the water plant was saved.

She said the rink was closed in 2019 because of structural issues and the cost of putting in ice.

The village council had been discussing demolishing the building, but hadn't made a final decision.

"Just one more thing that went by the wayside in the town."

Kyle Mooney, Liberty's fire chief, said firefighters arrived within a couple of minutes of Shields calling, but it was clear the rink was beyond saving.

He said crews focused on saving the water treatment plant.

"It's a very vital part of our town. If we were to lose that we would have been in big trouble," he said, adding that investigators are trying to determine what caused the fire.

Langloisthe town's water treatment plant was operationalby Sunday.