ELMSDALE: A burnt electrical motor at the Lloyd E. Matheson Centre in Elmsdale sent those in the building scurrying outside into the cold after the fire alarm sounded on the morning of Nov. 13.
Approximately 35 firefighters from Elmsdale; Lantz; Enfield; Milford; and Station 40 Dutch Settlement were on scene of the smoke condition call, which came in at about 7:20 a.m. Nine Mile River Fire was also paged but were asked to standby at their hall.
Mark Frizzell, the deputy fire chief in Lantz, was Incident Commander on the call. He explained what the firefighters dealt with.
“There was a bump in the electrical system and so we had a burnt out motor in the HVAC System, which caused smoke and stuff throughout the building that caused the alarms to activate,” Frizzell told The Laker News.
He said the full structure fire response protocol was activated for the call, hence why residents saw so many fire trucks.
Frizzell said it took some searching the large building to isolate the exact area of the smoke.
“It was a quick response to the scene by our firefighters,” he said. “We were able to find the area quickly and efficiently. “
People who were in the building when the alarms sounded had evacuated to the nearby East Hants Aquatic Centre parking lot to await all clear to return.
The scene was quickly cleared up and everyone allowed to return, and firefighters released from the scene to go about their Friday.
“Everything is clear, they have their electricians en route and the situation is back to normal,” said Frizzell. “Everyone is going back to work.”
