Red Umbrella Inn owner Ziad Halasah was working in the office July 8 when he noticed one of his staff fly past in a vehicle. He was a bit surprised by the speed so went out to see what was going on.
The sight of a truck used for plowing engulfed in flames was naturally “unexpected” as was the plume of black smoke pouring into the air.
The fire, in the parking lot across from the inn, was also a worry as they store a lot of items in the area for people, including ice racing cars, and sailboats. Guests also use the lot to park their cars. There was a fence and home just to the north of the blaze on a hot day with wind.
A call was placed to 9-1-1 while inn staff tried their best to extinguish the truck and move items, including a large house trailer, out of the line of fire.
The first fire crew arrived from Algonquin Highlands, quickly followed by crews from Dysart and Minden Hills.
Minden Hills fire chief Don Kruger said the original call went to Algonquin Highlands and Dysart, with Minden getting its page around 2:30 p.m. Minden was out on another call for a vehicle in the ditch at the time.
“All three fire departments were on scene at one point,” he said.
“I guess the owner of the Red Umbrella Inn had somebody moving a plow truck out of the field.” Kruger said the person saw smoke in the cab, “and the vehicle went up in flames.”
He said flames were spreading through the grass; a snowmobile in the bush went up; and they were moving towards the house and trailer, along with other items.
“Fortunately, the fire crews were able to get there quick enough and prevent it from spreading beyond the vehicle and the little bit of grass there,” he said. “There was the potential for it to be much more than it was, fortunately, it was just a run-of-the-mill vehicle fire.” He confirmed there were no injuries. He estimated about 20 volunteer firefighters attended.
But it was far from ordinary for Halasah, who expressed relief no one was hurt and thanked volunteer firefighters for getting the situation under control quickly.
“I’m grateful to these people for what they do,” he said.