At around 2:00 Monday afternoon, Brandon Fire and Emergency Services and Brandon Police Service responded to a blaze in the Inland Kenworth business at 1240 Highland Ave, off of the TransCanada highway.
When fire crews arrived there was considerable smoke coming from the garage portion of the building, with flames coming out of the overhead door space. Firefighters experienced water supply issues with the closest hydrant being frozen. The decision was made to close the TransCanada highway between 18th Street and 1st Street so that a hose could be connected to a hydrant across the road that wasn’t frozen.
By the time a sustainable water source was established flames were roaring out of the building where the overhead doors used to be. Multiple significant explosions occurred at this time, sending yellow/green smoke billowing from the building.
Firefighters continued to battle the blaze with at least 6 fire hoses coming off of 1 fire truck. Brandon’s Quint ladder truck was brought in to set up “master stream”, but due to only 1 hydrant being available setting up the Quint wasn’t possible, as there wasn’t enough water pressure to supply both trucks.
Fire eventually moved into the office portion of the building which prompted firefighters to break glass in order to get water into that part of the building. As of 6:00pm the fire was still producing large clouds of smoke, and fire crews were still working to extinguish it. Firefighters will likely be fighting the blaze well into the evening and remaining on scene overnight.
