Fire destroyed one of the 18 traditional wooden elevators that Saskatchewan Wheat Pool intended to continue operating.
At 11:45 p.m. on July 30 a passerby reported to Melville fire officials that smoke was billowing from the darkened facility.
Despite volunteer firefighters’ attempts to quell the blaze, the facility burned to the ground over the next 20 hours. No one was injured and property damage was limited to the wooden structure.
Inside the crib structure of the main elevator, 2,200 tonnes of grain were lost to the fire, while grain stored in steel, farmer-owned, grain condos appeared at press time to be in good condition.
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Keith Strueby, regional operations manager with Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, said the company, fire and insurance officials will investigate the cause of the blaze.
“It is a tragedy to lose such a good facility in this town,” said Strueby.
“We had an export quality commercial cleaner in this elevator. This was one great facility. Really well run. Great staff, great customers. We planned on keeping this one.”
He said the four employees are now working from the local farm service centre trying to redirect customer grain to other Sask Pool facilities in the region.
He had hoped to put more than 100,000 tonnes of local farmer’s grain through the building this year.
“It is too early to say if we will rebuild. First we want to find out the cause. Then we need to meet with local farmers and discuss what can be done …. It was all insured, the grain, the building. But it is too early to say what will happen until we talk to the local producers.”
