Quonset fire stopped quickly

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Strathmore Agricultural Society suffered damage on Jan. 19, when the Quonset building caught fire, damaging or destroying many of the materials inside.

“We got a call (Thursday) morning shortly after 11 a.m. that there was a structure fire out on our grounds. I ran out from the office with the rest of the staff there and noticed the fire department was already on scene and putting out a fire in our storage closet,” said Ryan Schmidt, CEO of the Strathmore Ag Society. “I do want to really thank the Strathmore Fire Department for so quickly being on the scene. There were on that fire very fast and kept it under control, and the Wheatland County Fire Department also came out to help.”

Inside the Quonset building, the Ag Society was storing roughly 100 bales of hay, as well as walls, materials and memorabilia for operating Halloween events on the grounds. 

Schmidt added he was relieved that by the time he and his staff were notified of the fire, response crews were already on the scene working to control the blaze. 

“By the time I got out there, they were already rolling out the hoses and hooking up to the hydrants. The fire could not have been going for that long because it was within where about 100 hay bales were stored and there is a lot of wood around there,” he said. “It could have been very bad but wasn’t because of the brush professionalism and quickness of our fire department.”

Ultimately, the damage is estimated to be around $10,000 in value, which Schmidt said an insurance claim would be filed and investigated for. No staff or personnel were injured as a result of the incident.

There is no estimate yet regarding repair timeline, though he hopes to have the building ready to go by the start of the rodeo season in the spring.

According to Schmidt, the damage will not impact any events being hosted on the Ag Society grounds, as the building is mainly used for storage.

An investigation into how the fire started is being conducted by the Strathmore Fire Department. Both the Strathmore and Wheatland County divisions were involved in controlling the blaze. 

“The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but we are working closely with the property’s insurance investigators to determine the exact cause,” said David Sturgeon, Chief of the Strathmore Fire Department. “This one will be a little bit harder because of the nature of the fuel. It was mainly hay bales on that side so it will be like finding a needle in a haystack. We will be sifting through the debris to find the origin site and then work it back from there.”

Once the fire was under control, debris were spread out and dowsed in order to prevent any potential flare ups caused by smouldering remains.