Annapolis Valley fire departments answer call for help on massive fire

Several local departments were amongst the 23 that battled an industrial fire in Weymouth

In his nearly 27 years working at Lewis Mouldings in Weymouth, Lester Molton put in the most difficult shift of his career on the evening of July 13.

But he wasn’t there as an employee. He was there as a firefighter.

And he wasn’t alone. Twenty-three fire departments from Digby, Annapolis, Yarmouth and Queens counties were called to battle a massive blaze at the business, which is the largest employer in the Weymouth, Digby County, area. Around 90 people are employed here.

“I’ve never had a big fire like that before and I’ve been almost 35 years doing this,” said Molton, who is deputy chief of the Weymouth department. “As a small fire department, we’re not used to a large industrial blaze.”

He couldn’t say enough good things about the mutual aid response of departments from throughout western Nova Scotia.

“It was unbelievable, the help,” he said.

When tackling a fire, Molton said you have to concentrate on the task at hand and not get caught up in the emotions. Still, it was impossible not to think about the dire impact for the community this blaze would create.

“This is the main business in the community. It’s going to put a lot of people out of a job,” he said while at the scene the morning of July 14. "We’re tough. We’re going to get through this.”

THERE TO HELP

While parts of the plant were destroyed and other areas suffered structural, water and smoke damage, firefighters were heralded for their work and effort to keep this from becoming an even larger community disaster.

There was evidence of how they were able to contain the fire on parts of the property. A back portion where logs and lumber are kept was untouched by the fire. And the blaze did not spread to the forest surrounding the plant.

For some firefighters, like Heather Robertson of the Nictaux department, this was the furthest distance they’d travelled to fight a fire. She said as they assisted at the scene thoughts often turned to what was at stake for the community and the employees, customers and suppliers of the business.

“You’re trying to focus on what you’re doing, but it’s always in the back of your mind,” she said. “I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of people out of work and that’s difficult because we’re in an economy where you can’t live without work.”

Fire departments from the Valley that helped to fight and extinguish the blaze, and/or helped to relieve exhausted fire crews, included Annapolis Royal, Bridgetown, Lawrencetown, Nictaux and Middleton.

Other departments on the scene were Weymouth,

Eel Brook, Yarmouth, Port Maitland, Salmon River, Meteghan, Little Brook, St. Bernard, Havelock, Southville, Plympton/Gilbert’s Cove, Brighton/Barton, Digby,

Bear River, Digby Neck, Smiths Cove, North Queens and Greenfield.

EXTENSIVE DAMAGE

As people in the community listened to an endless stream of sirens from late evening on Tuesday, July 13, to early morning on Wednesday,

July 14 — and saw the smoke and flame billowing from the scene — they feared the worst as they prayed for those battling the blaze.

“Short of it being completely flattened, it’s pretty well as bad as it’s going to be,” said general manager Jamie Lewis — one of generations of the Lewis family who have been involved with the family-run company, which has a history dating back to the 1950s.

The damage was widespread.

At the time of the blaze, the cause of the fire was unknown.

There were employees on evening shift when the fire started. Everyone got out safely. And while there were some cases of heat exhaustion amongst firefighters, there were no other injuries reported.

Lewis Mouldings’ products range from mouldings and millwork, to pine lumber and cut stock, to Fibre Fuel — an alternative to traditional firewood; along with other products. Unfortunately these products helped to fuel the fire.

A large part of the plant was completely destroyed by the blaze. Lewis said the roof came down on where the production equipment — including key and specialized components — were housed.

“It’s pretty bad and on top of that, the roof over the area of what’s salvageable is still in question," he said. "I’m not going to put people in there because of safety."

There was also water and smoke damage in buildings that were still standing.

Yet, Lewis said it was not too early to talk about rebuilding.

“We have fantastic people. We want to make sure they all transition well and then we also want to get them back to work, for them and for us,” he said. “There’s good demand for our products — some made in Nova Scotia product and made in rural Nova Scotia on top of that.”

GRATEFUL TO FIREFIGHTERS

Lewis could not say enough good things about the firefighters.

“They’re amazing people. We’re incredibly grateful and humble. They came from all over,” he said.

“I get choked up pretty quick when I start thinking about it," he added. "This Weymouth Fire Department, a lot of the guys on it work for us and have worked for us for a long time and are friends. It’s hard to see them here fighting a fire where they work.”

Lewis said the fire once again speaks to the importance of employers supporting those who volunteer in the fire service.

“We know what it’s like to have people missing the next day because of a fire. You deal with it, because that’s what community is,” he said. “I appreciate the employers from all over that are shorthanded today and not getting stuff done because of what happened here. It means a lot.”