DIDSBURY - A large horse barn was completely destroyed in a fire just outside town on Thursday afternoon, said Didsbury Fire Department Chief Curtis Mousseau.
There were no injuries and no animals were hurt in the blaze at the rural property on Rge. Rd 2.0 in Mountain View County, he said.
The blaze was inadvertently sparked by a man working on equipment in the barn, he said.
“Somebody was working on a tractor’s fuel system and some of the gasoline ignited on a trouble light (a rough service light),” said Mousseau. “He was working under the tractor and some fuel spewed out, hit the light and took off.
“It ended up being a fully involved fire and a total loss. It was completely destroyed.”
Some horse tack and the tractor that was being worked on was destroyed in mishap, he said.
There was some fire exposure to a nearby mobile home.
“It melted the siding but we were able to cool that off and prevent it from going up,” he said.
Seven Didsbury Fire Department members attended the scene, as well as seven from Olds and four from Carstairs called out for mutual aid.
The value of the barn and lost equipment is still being calculated, he said.
“We are in the midst of our investigation,” he said. “It is not suspicious in nature. It was just an unfortunate accident.
“It was fortunate that all the animals were outside the barn and there were no injuries to people.”
Jason Kjorsvik, Olds Fire Department deputy fire chief said a water shuttle was initiated at the scene using three water tenders. In all, about 25,000 gallons of water was used to extinguish the fire.
Alberta Health Services personnel were at the scene to monitor firefighters’ vitals during the incident, he said.