Barn Fire on Silver Street near Caistor Centre, ON with Poor Hydrant Access

A barn was destroyed by fire in West Lincoln (ON, Canada) on Saturday, November 4th, in the early morning hours as firefighters battled a simultaneous fire involving several boats at a different location. St. Catharines Fire dispatch advised West Lincoln crews that they were receiving reports of a barn fire on Regional Road 65 (Silver Street) near Abingdon Road out towards Caistor-Centre as units were arriving scene of three boats fully-involved on Thirty Road (near Smithville). A neighbour had reported that a chicken barn across the street from their home was on fire, not terribly far from West Lincoln Fire Station #2. Due to firefighters already responding to their hall to attend the boat fire, when dispatch advised them of the second fire they quickly rerouted and were on scene within a couple of minutes. The arrival conditions were heavy smoke & fire venting from a large metal barn that was reportedly being used for storage - believed to be no livestock/chickens inside. Due to the two simultaneous fires in the Township, mutual aid was requested from Grimsby, Lincoln, and Haldimand Fire Departments to assist with resources. Unfortunately the firefighters had a tough time accessing a functioning fire hydrant near the scene for the tanker trucks to refill; with the closest functioning hydrants being located in Binbrook and Smithville (several kms & minutes away from the scene). This proved for a difficult firefight as crews could do nothing but stand around and wait for additional water after running out each time they attempted to extinguish the flames. By 4:00 AM, crews had established a tanker shuttle at the roadway, as well as hitting the fire with an aerial master stream from above; making noticeable progress on extinguishment as the entire barn was consumed by fire. There were no reported injuries in this blaze that I am aware of, either. Heavy machinery was brought in to assist with accessing deep-seated hotspots and firefighters remained on scene well into the morning. The West Niagara Fire Special Operations Unit also attended the scene.

Photo album: https://www.flickr.com/gp/copcarman12...