Electrical Distribution Board Identified in Cardigan Fire

The Manager of the Cardigan Feed Service said, “It was down to the expertise of volunteer fire-fighters, that the largest feed service operation is still standing today in eastern P.E.I (Prince Edward Island).” During an interview last Thurday, Mary VandenBroek mentioned, “We were two minutes away from losing it, and today we would have nothing more than a pile of ashes.”

For the past 50 year the operation which caught fire last Wednesday has been owed and operated by the VandenBroek family. The incident happened at 10.30 pm, around the same time high winds and rain knocked out power to parts of eastern P.E.I.

The battery powered commercial fire alarm in the building sounded and alerted the authorities before flames ended up causing damages around $50,000 - $75,000. The fire was contained to the electrical room and VandenBroek Grant said the entire structure would have been levelled had firefighters not been able to contain it.

 “It was the expertise of those skilled and courageous firemen that helped save the building,’’ she said.

Fire-fighters from Cardigan, Georgetown and Montague all responded and a DSPA canister was tossed into the burning electrical room upon first arrival. The device sucked the oxygen out of the room enabling firefighters to get a handle on the blaze before it spread throughout the entire building. 

“The alarm saved us and by going off it alerted the fire department who were then here in minutes to help extinguish the fire” she said.

The fully insured feed service was filled with machinery, feed, a fleet of trucks and a dispensing silo, and is located in the heart of the village just around the corner from the local fire department.

Provincial Fire Marshal Dave Rossiter was on the scene Thursday morning and confirmed, “The fire has been ruled accidental’’. The fire originated in the electrical distribution board in the basement and the cause is attributed to a malfunction in the board.”

The feed service was inundated Thursday with well-wishers and callers and will need a complete electrical room renovation before resuming normal operations.