Firefighter’s reaction cuts down on damage

Posted on May 1, 2014 by Westwind Weekly

A speedy reaction to signs of a fire, just outside of the town of Magrath, last Thursday afternoon made all the difference for an appreciative home owner.

While driving south on Highway 62 Magrath firefighter Scott Neilson saw signs of a fire and reacted quickly by pulling off and grabbing his fire extinguisher.

“He realized it wasn’t ordinary smoke from a burning pile, and he pulled into the yard, and grabbed the extinguisher off the back of his truck and knocked most it down by the time the rest of the (firefighters) got there,” explained Fire Chief Cliff Blackwell.

Nine members of the Magrath Fire Department were dispatched to the yard, just a couple miles outside of town, which was a “quick” job for the team.

“It started from a tipped-over space heater in the basement of the trailer home (on the property),” said Blackwell. “No one was living in the trailer at the time. It was just one of those accidents.”