Sask. residents say accidental military blaze was 'close call' for rural homes

Christopher Giede said he saw"regiments of flames" from an accidental fire at a Saskatchewan military base marching toward his home Saturday night.

"There would be one wall of flame moving fast and then behind another wall further back," said Giede, whose Corman Park home is across the road from a Canadian Armed Forces military training base southeast of Saskatoon.

Giede is one of a number of nearby residents concerned about safety, saying there was a lack of communication and action in response to a fire they believe put their homes at risk.

It started Saturday when a military training exercise involving live fire of small arms and artillery rounds set parts of the field ablaze.

The National Department of Defence said the fire is contained and crews are fighting hotspots.

Saskatoon Police initially said the fire was a controlled burn but the Department of National Defence confirmed Sunday the blaze was accidental. The incident is being investigated.

Military 'confident' fire was not risk to homes

The department told CBC News in an emailed response to questions that the homes were not at risk.

"A substantial fire guard surrounds the entire perimeter of the Department of National Defence land and crews on the ground remain confident that the fire was not at risk of spreading past the fire guard," said a statement from Maj.David Meister.

"The area of the fire is continually being monitored and the area affected is being tracked by detachment personnel."

But property owners who can see sections of the charred field from their driveways are describing the fire as a "close call."

Giede and his wife Carol were worried their home would not survive the night.

They said they were initially assured by authorities that the fire was being contained by military crews inside the perimeter of the army detachment.

The couple packed their photo albums, musical instruments, two cats and a dog into one of their vehicles and drove them to a friend's house in case they were evacuated.

When they returned to check on the house at about 11 p.m. CST, their yard filled with smoke and there was a glow coming across the ridge.

"By the time we were back out of our yard onto the road there was flames all along the road and there was no activity, there was nobody in sight fighting the fire," said Giede.

'Communication has to be better'

He estimates the nearest flames were about 40 metres from his house on the other side of a protective fire break designed to stop the fire crossing outsidethe edge of the military property.

Giede said he was given conflictinginformation by different authorities when he called to raise the alarm about the fire moving closer to homes.

He spoke to the Corman Park police, the RCMP andthe Saskatoon Fire Department but wasn't able to reach the contact at the military base.

Ultimately he and Carol made their own decision to leave because they felt it was too unsafe to stay.

"Communication has to be better," said Giede.

"I can't really speculate on why communication would be so poor between those various groups."

Both said they were grateful for the support they received from neighbours and emergency workers who tried to help them.

Some flames still visible Sunday

Flames could still be seen across the road from Cam Ewart's property on Sunday afternoon.

He expressed his frustration as he and partner Nancy Bellegarde watched the fire burning in a cluster of trees. Ewartsaid he called 911 several hours earlier to report the fire getting closer again.

The pair havepacked their valuables into a vehicle in case they needto evacuate, something they said the RCMP had told them to do.

As he was speaking, a black truck sped along the inside of the militaryperimeter fence and a number of figures in safety vests got out of the vehicle close to the fire.

"It's frustrating because I'm not sure what to do," said Ewart.

"The lack of action is baffling."

Residents were ready to evacuate

Shelley Ruiters lives in the Hamlet of Beaver Creek and estimates her home was about 500 metres from the edge of the fire.

Ruiters said the RCMP told her family they would put the sirens on if the fire reached the perimeterfence so they would know if they needed to flee.

She got her four horses ready to load into their trailer in case of an emergency, estimating she would have enough time to do two trips with her two-horse trailer to another property.

"There was just no information," said Ruiters.

"I do think it's a close call and I feel that, for our neighbours the Giedes, the fire is literally across the road from them."

The Saskatoon Fire Department sent four trucks to the road near the Giedes and Ruiters homes at about 1 a.m.

Battalion Chief Brent Hart said his department contacted the Dundurn training camp after receiving complaints about smoke in the city.

He said their military contact told the department the fire was under control.

"Until about 12:45 in the morning, we started getting calls from the Hamlet of Beaver Creek, and they said 'The fire is on the other side of the road and it is very close to our homes," said Hart.

Hart, who was not on-shiftduring the fire, said he could not yet confirm if Canadian Armed Forces requested any assistance, or if the trucks were responding to calls from homeowners.

Meister,the senior public affairs officer for the 2 Canadian Air Division Headquarters of the Canadian Armed Forces, said Dundurn military officials contacted emergency workers in the Town of Dundurn and from Saskatoon.

He said contact with those organizations has been maintained.

Military protocol

"Canadian Forces Dundurn (CFD) protocol states that if a fire is started in the training area, Range Control must be notified immediately while members deploy their fire safety drills," said Meister.

Meister said CFD has a staffed and equipped professional fire department. It deployed 18 of its members and about 50 army reservists to assist in the fire fight.

The blaze started during an "Armoured Bison" exercise involving the fire of small arms and artillery rounds within the training area.

Training scaled back Sunday

Environment Canada issued a special air quality statement Sunday morning warning people with health conditions about poor air quality, but that alert has since ended.

The Department of National Defence has not yet released more detailed information about how the fire started.

About 190 Primary Reserve Soldiers from the Third Canadian Division were involved in the two-day long training exercise which started on Saturday and was scheduled to continue on Sunday.

Meister said the second day of training was scaled back because of the fire.