Forever changed: Fire destroys Wiseton Main street

On Tuesday, a devastating fire burned three staple buildings on the main street in Wiseton, Saskatchewan

The Village of Wiseton has an estimated population of less than 100 members, it is located west of Dinsmore.

The fire had started in a vehicle parked near the hotel and the owner of the vehicle was unable to put the fire out before it began to spread. Only one person was sent to the hospital due to high levels of smoke inhalation.

Dinsmore Fire Chief Greg Orban shared with 650 CKOM the fire has taken a huge toll on the community.

“The town lost the structure, which was the old hotel, one guy was living there. The next-door building was the post office and the town office. So they lost everything, all their records,” explained Orban. “But (for) right now, it looks like everything was lost.”

Orban called the Elrose Fire Department and the Milden & District Fire Department to help battle the flames.

“Due to the age and size of the structure, construction, and the wind, caused radiant heat to spread to the next building and we slowed it down but we didn’t stop it,” said Orban. “All we could do is control the heat as best we can.”

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Orban was thankful for all the farmers who quickly responded to the scene with water for the firefighters.

“We had lots of farmers, lots of water… we had water within the first half an hour,” said Orban.

Unfortunately, this is not Wiseton’s first fire.

Wiseton Mayor, Cheryl Greuel, told 650CKOM the village has had three fires over the last three years.

“To have that kind of support is unreal. It brings a person to their knees really to be that grateful to have that,’ said Greuel. “We’ve had the community support three times now, and the fact that they still keep coming out to help us when we need it is just unreal.”

Greuel explained the cleanup will take a long time because there are no garbage dumps in the area.

“Right now we are trying to find where we can start building everything up again. The area is still smoldering and started on fire again so it is going to be a while even before we can touch it for clean up,” shared Greuel.

Greuel hopes the village will be able to come up with enough funds to rebuild one of their most essential buildings.

“Cause if we lose our post office, it would be a devastating loss. We need our post office back,” said Greuel.

When asked if she had anything else to share, Greuel stressed the importance of being prepared for a fire.

“I would like to press everybody to make sure that their fire insurance is up to date so that villages don’t get stuck with the bills. And to be fire safe, don’t leave anything in the back of your truck that can combust like old batteries,” explained Greuel.

Greuel expressed how grateful she is to everyone who helped.

“All my thanks to all the farmers and the fighter fighters who came out to help us… and to make sure that the rest of the town is still standing,” shared Greuel.