Wildfires continue to rage in central Newfoundland after another hot and dry weekend, but the burning isn’t just central.
Bell Island and the Town of Wabana are down with a fire pump after a busy weekend battling multiple fires throughout the town.
Mayor Gary Gossin says they received calls for about seven or eight different fires over Saturday and Sunday that resulted in one fire truck bursting into flames.
Gossin explains that while crews were on the scene, the fire became so hot that it engulfed the muffler and exhaust system and blew up the pumper truck.
The mayor says they have reported the RCMP and insurance and hope to get things straightened out and get a new pumper truck for the city. However, he is not sure how long that will take.
He says until it is replaced, they are without a major piece of firefighting equipment, and the truck that burned has been used on wildfires and larger fires.
In a surprising twist, Gossin believes the Belle Isle fires may not have been caused by natural causes.
He says he doesn’t think all the fires they had over the weekend were natural wildfires and blames some of the arson.
Gozin says people need to understand the damage a fire can do, and now they are left without basic equipment and security for the people of Belle Isle.
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