A fire sparked by a tree that fell on powerlines near Golden earlier this week may have caused serious damage if it wasn’t for the quick thinking and heroic actions of Good Samaritans and first responders.
On Wednesday (Aug. 16), Golden RCMP BC Highway Patrol Cst. Mark Tataryn was driving down the highway near Golden when he spotted something unusual.
Cst. Tataryn noticed a small brush fire burning on the north bank of Highway 1 near Station Rd. The fire was beginning to engulf large trees, and the constable, who had multiple fire extinguishers in his police vehicle, jumped into action.
Cst. Tataryn, alongside police officers who were called to the scene and other travellers who stopped to help, began fighting the flame.
Then, a Kootenay Pumping truck that was travelling down the road stopped and lent its pump and water lines to the cause. Cst. Tataryn and company managed to get the fire down to a manageable size before the Golden Fire Department arrived.
The Golden Fire Department, Nicholson Fire Department, and BC Wildfire Services fought the fire, and by 8 p.m., it was extinguished.
Without the quick thinking of Cst. Tataryn and staff from Kootenay Pumping, the outcome could have been devastating for the community
said Corporal Lucas Sovio with the Golden-Field RCMP in a press release. A special thank you to all of the local residents, passersby and first responders who helped fight the fire. Rob Ford, Mike Faucet, Brady Hubert, Robert Cowan, and others whose names we did not get, were amongst those Good Samaritans who stopped to lend a hand.
Cpl. Sovio added that if the fire hadn’t been dealt with quickly, it could have led to an evacuation of the Blaeberry area.
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@josh_piercey
josh.piercey@revelstokereview.com
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