A heavy lift tow truck had to be called in to help extricate a London Fire Department truck that became stuck in the mud while responding to a barn fire on Sarnia Road, near Hyde Park, on Tuesday night (Jan. 31).
A HazMat team was called to a barn fire in the city’s north end last night (Jan. 31).
Shortly before 8 p.m., the London Fire Department (LFD) responded to fire at 895 Sarnia Rd. Upon arrival, they discovered a fully engulfed barn that was sending clouds of smoke into a nearby subdivision.
The complexity of the situation was compounded by the fact access to the structure was restricted to a single lane leading to a wooden trestle bridge over the Canadian Pacific Rail Lines. The narrow gravel lane and mild weather caused one of the responding fire trucks to get stuck on the shoulder of the road, which was later removed with the help of a tow truck.
Firefighters had to access hydrants on the west end of Lawson Road and Sandbar Street to extinguish the blaze before it spread to a nearby structure containing collectibles, according to a news release from LFD.
The HazMat team was called in as a precautionary measure to determine if there was any risk in the heavy smoke blanketing the neighbourhood, which there wasn’t. The structure was then knocked down using a hihi excavator to allow firefighters to get inside and look for hidden hotspots.
No one was injured in the fire and there weren’t any animals inside the barn. LFD stayed on scene until around 1:30 a.m. to ensure the safety of the area. Damage is pegged at $400,000.
