There’s lots of local coverage on the fire that destroyed half of the downtown of Milden, SK. on Sunday.
A few anecdotes – the fire appears to have been started by a combination of high wind and downed powerlines, which ignited the buildings so quickly that they were fully engulfed within minutes. The pharmacist is reported as having risked his life getting the town’s firetruck out of the burning firehall, nearly collapsing from smoke inhalation after getting it to safety.
The residents not involved in fighting the main fire tended the many grass fires throughout town that were ignited by the burning shingles blowing from the roof of the lumber mart. It’s an extremely fortunate thing indeed that this did not happen at night, or it’s possible that lives would have been lost.
To nobody’s surprise, residents of the two Hutterite colonies turned up with sandwiches and bottled water to keep firefighters fed and hydrated, all without anyone making a call.
The cleanup has already begun, and as everything was insured, Milden is already looking forward to rebuilding. All in a day’s work for a village of 260.
Other photos here andhere, as well as on my Sunday post.
There sure is a lot to be said about small communities coming together in a time of need.
You can always count on the neighbours when it comes to prairie fires.
Coming from southern sask I remember gunny sacks soaked in water being used to wack out the grass fire.
Young Farm boys smoking…It wasnt behind the barn and no it wasnt me, so get that knife out of my back would ya.
I saw some coverage on CTV tonight; looks like Hank’s corn stand didn’t make it.
Matt in Lethbridge
In case Noel was wondering about the pharmacist, outside of Tronna, most fire departments are volunteer.
Question, Kate: When I was a kid in Lethbridge I remember quite a few Hutterite colonies throughout the area. Later I lived in Edmonton and there was a huge concern because of the expansion of the colonies and the Hutterites buying up land to start new colonies. I believe they top out a colony when the population reaches 110 and they start a new one. There was talk of legislation to limit their land ownership (I can hear the lawyers and civil rights activists feasting). Is there a problem, real or imagines, with the Hutterite population in Sask? Does anyone know what the situation is in Alberta these days?
You know, you’re asking the wrong person. We have a lot of Hutterites in this area, and I don’t remember the last time I even heard anyone talk about them.
This is an interesting one. Visit my site at the link below.
This story is a fake. Whenever I see a real disaster on TV there are throngs of hungry children gathered around a truck getting handouts. Where are the UN people, filled with care and taking surveys? There should be a tent city of refugees. When is OXFAM going to send some building materials?
None of this is present here. These people are rebuilding their town … this never happens in a real disaster.
This community spirit,Im sure it probably dates back to the Homestead days when sometimes peoples very lives were in jeopardy and when reliance on your neigbour meant everything.
No doctors,no fire department,no telephone,electricty, wow,your neighbour was probably held in high esteem and respect as you might never know when you would need to call upon them or them on you.
Loss suffered by one,sickness,death,loss of property by fire was loss by all.
Its so nice to see people coming together like this regardless of there differences, religion,language/culture, perhaps even hard feelings against a neighbour from something said yrs before.
Its like when you need to count on them, they are there to be counted on.
In rural communities the hutturite issue does come up from time to time.Hard feelings can exisit between the local farmers and the hutterites so in this Milden case it appears the pioneering community spirit prevailed and any differences(if there were any) were quickly laid aside when their neighbours needed them.Warms my heart actually and this coming together may actually change the dynamics in that community for years as people are going to remember how there neighbours came to help them and they may be looked at in a different light from this point forward.
May the good people of Milden be blessed in their rebuilding efforts!
Too bad the U.S. MSM totally ignores this example of small-town Canadians pitching in and rebuilding their town after a terrible disaster. The only stories Americans receive about Canada relate to same-sex marriage, Homolka, and the incredibly stupid drug-smuggling tunnel (under the Zero Avenue border) between Aldergrove, B.C. and Lynden, Washington.
The east side of Main St., Medford, WI burned to the ground somen many years ago. The MSM ignored that one too.