One of Noel Harding's worst nightmares happened.  Noel was about 2000 miles from home, preparing for the largest fight of his professional boxing career, when he learned that the weekend's devastating fires had all but wiped out his Brandon Boxing Club.   He was in Guadalajara, Mexico about to enter the ring when he got the news.  Noel has put his heart and soul into running the business for the last 17 years. “The promoter gave me the option not to fight but I came all that way I had to fight...this was the biggest fight of my life” Noel told bdnmb.ca. The Brandon Boxing Cub was one several local businesses effected by the fires on Saturday and Sunday.   “ I plan to rebuild and make it even better” said Harding. Local food truck (Smoked & Sauced Mobile BBQ) operator Jayson McCallum will be hosting a fundraising event on June 23rd in which 100 % of the proceeds will go towards the rebuild of the Brandon Boxing Club. https://www.facebook.com/events/185472402278861??ti=ia Plus, a GOFUNDME page has been created as well to get the Brandon Boxing Club back on it's feet. https://www.gofundme.com/rebuild-the-bbc  

At around 9:20 Sunday evening, fire and police responded to 940 Douglas St. for a reported vehicle fire. The vehicle was on fire in Accel Towing and Transport’s lot. This was the second vehicle fire of the day for fire crews. No neighbouring structures were affected and no injuries occurred. The fire was put out within minutes.  Photos by: Liam Pattison Photography.

Brandon, MB – The City of Brandon’s emergency response team wishes to provide an update on its continuing response after a series of significant structure fires broke out in downtown Brandon this afternoon. Members with Brandon Fire & Emergency Services responded to an initial fire at the Christie’s Office Plus building in the 700-block of Pacific Avenue during the noon hour. It is believed that embers from that structure fire drifted and started subsequent fires at two additional buildings on the 500-block of Pacific Avenue (Massey Manor and Collyer’s Sales and Service/Brandon Boxing Club/Kazic Kontracting), and later to a building on the corner of 5th Street and Rosser Avenue housing a beer vendor and vacant nightclub. Occupants of all impacted buildings were evacuated. The City of Brandon was assisted by The Salvation Army, Canadian Red Cross and the Province of Manitoba with the care and registration of in excess of 100 evacuees at a local hotel. With assistance from Manitoba Hydro, the Office of the Fire Commissioner and mutual aid from the Souris, Wawanesa and CFB Shilo Fire Departments, Brandon Fire & Emergency Services actively worked to extinguish the fires. The Christie’s Office Plus building was destroyed, as was the beer vendor and vacant nightclub structure, while the other impacted structures received substantial damage. As of late Saturday evening, Brandon Fire & Emergency Services crews remained on site at all fire locations and were still actively working to extinguish flare-ups at the Collyer’s Sales and Service/Brandon Boxing Club/Kazic Kontracting building. As of late Saturday evening, several dozen Manitoba Hydro customers in the immediate area of the fires remained without power, with Manitoba Hydro indicating power to those customers would only be restored when their crews could safely access the area. No fatalities or injuries have been reported relating to these fires or the response to these fires.  A preliminary investigation into the cause of the initial fire is underway, but a cause is unknown at this time. The City of Brandon’s Emergency Response Team wishes to extend its heartfelt gratitude to all authorities and organizations that have assisted with its fire response thus far and asks for the public’s understanding and cooperation as its response continues. Photos by Liam Pattison Photography.

The Christie's Office Plus building on Pacific caught fire earlier today.   The fire started just before noon and spread to other neighboring downtown buildings.  At least four buildings in Brandon's downtown caught fire including Massey Manor and the Cold Beer Store at the corner of 5th St and Rosser Ave. The City of Brandon has released a statement on their Facebook page asking people to stay away from the immediate area of the fires and let the firefighters do their job.  According to the statement "Fire Dept officials have confirmed that embers from the downtown fires are drifting a significant distance & creating potential for additional fires." Thank you Chris Drover, Ron Fourre, Tyler Plante, and Caitlyn McFaddin for the photos.

Brandon, MB – With the current unseasonably dry conditions being experienced in Brandon, officials with Brandon Fire & Emergency Services would like to remind residents of the City’s strict burning policies. As per City of Brandon Fire Prevention Bylaw No. 7200, the only open burning allowed within the City of Brandon is that within fire pits or appliances accompanied by an authorized permit. Brandon Fire and Emergency Services would also like to advise the public that until further notice, the use of open fire pits in the City’s public parks is prohibited out of an abundance of caution. Should a resident not have an open fire permit and wish to obtain one, applications can be found on the Brandon Fire & Emergency Services’ website at http://brandonfire.ca/resources/open-fire-safety. Applications can also be obtained from Brandon Fire & Emergency Services’ Firehall No.1 or Firehall No.2 (located at 120 - 19th Street North or 1301 - 13th Street, respectively) seven days a week between the hours of 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.  There is absolutely no cost to obtain a permit, however, prior to issuing of a permit, an application must be completed in full and an inspection of the proposed site /appliance by a member of Brandon Fire and Emergency Services is required. If not approved within thirty days, a new application must be submitted. If a citizen is found burning without a permit, they WILL be issued a fine, without warning, of UP TO $1,000 for each offence. When using any approved fire pit, citizens are reminded to abide by the bylaw’s key requirements, including that of keeping the size of the fire to a minimum, ensuring the spark arrestor is in place, supervising the fire at all times, and ensuring a source of water is located nearby in the event the fire requires extinguishing. More information on open fire safety can be found at the above web address. Residents with approved outdoor fire pits are reminded to be “Good Neighbours” and ensure that any smoke from their fire pit does not directly drift into their neighbour’s yards. The City of Brandon and Brandon Fire and Emergency Services thanks residents for their cooperation in ensuring that spending time outdoors this summer is a safe and enjoyable experience for all.