The Dauphin Fire Department was dispatched to a possible structure fire last night that could have been a lot worse if not for a pair of cyclists who saw smoke and called it in quickly.
The cyclists noticed smoke coming from the DRS storage building/the old swimming pool on 4th Avenue Southeast and called 911. When crews arrived, the building was full of smoke due to some smoldering material in the back of a truck used with a wood chipper. See the report from Fire Chief Cam Abrey below:
Shortly before 10:00 pm this evening (Thursday, June 8th), DFD was dispatched for the report of a possible structure fire on 4th Avenue SE in the DRS storage building (aka the old swimming pool).
Upon arrival, crews made entry and found the building full of smoke. They quickly located the cause to be in the back of the truck used in conjunction with the wood chipper. The organic material in the box of the truck self heated to the point of combustion and was slowly smoldering.
Thanks to the quick call to 911 from two cyclists passing by that spotted smoke coming from the building, the fire was caught in the very early stages. Had they not noticed the smoke and the burning continued, it would have been quite developed within approximately an hour. We’re very thankful for the actions of these passersby that were simply out enjoying the weather and our fine city.
We would also like to take this opportunity to remind the public, when an emergency vehicle is responding with lights and sirens activated, to please allow the vehicles to proceed. While enroute this evening, another individual on a bicycle refused to move for one of the responding trucks, and continued to swerve across the lanes preventing the driver from safely passing. They also shone a flashlight into the eyes of the driver and passenger of the responding truck as though trying to temporarily blind them. Please allow first responders to safely respond.
