Fire rips through farm field near Pense, farmer outraged over response by emergency crews

All that remains is a black charred field that stretches for miles after a massive fire roared through stubble crop fields in the R.M. of Pense on Monday afternoon.

The fire was apparently started by a lit cigarette that was thrown of a car, according to the farmer that first noticed the flames.

Nick Corna said he spotted the flames on his way back from picking up parts.

He called 9-1-1 and he and about 30 other farmers, including his father, tried to attack to the blaze and contain it.

"When I phoned 9-1-1, they dispatched Pense. Pense for us, we're in the very far corner of Pense. Their response time, it's not their fault, they're 35 minutes away from us,” he said.

There was still no fire department that arrived almost an hour later. Cornea said he called 9-1-1 again and questioned why the Moose Jaw Fire Department was not called.

"They told me because of politics and bureaucracy, they couldn't send Moose Jaw out,” he said.

A burned out semi truck sits in a burned out field southwest of Belle Plaine after a stubble fire roared through the area on Monday. (Gareth Dillistone / CTV News)Up until Dec. 31, 2014, the R.M. of Pense did have a Fire Protection and Rescue Services agreement with the City of Moose Jaw.

“In 2014, the Moose Jaw Fire Department informed us they would be increasing the annual retainer fee. In 2014 the retainer fee was $881.76. I do not have the exact proposed retainer amount, but I remember it was to be over $200,000,” said Cathy Ripplinger, the Administrator for the R.M., in a statement to CTV News.

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Ripplinger said the retainer fee would not cover the cost of any callouts and instead, they invested that money into their own fire department.

Marysa Carmichael, the City Manager for the City of Moose Jaw, said there are instances when the fire department would respond to a fire that is not in their jurisdiction, but it would cost $10,000 or more.

“If the R.M. of Pense was there responding to the fire but unfortunately we're not able to handle it fully by themselves, they could have called us directly and at that point we would have supported them in fighting the fire."

Carmichael said the City of Moose Jaw does have several firefighting agreements with rural municipalities, but they do not have one with the R.M. of Pense.

It would be up to the R.M. to contact to city re-establish one if they choose to.

No one was hurt in the fire but a semi-truck belonging to a neighbour who was trying to help fight the fire was destroyed. 

A semi-truck belonging to a neighbour who was trying to help fight the fire was destroyed. (Angela Stewart / CTV News)