Robinson fire department responds to burning snowplow
ROBINSON TOWNSHIP—It was quite an ordeal for a driver of a snowplow for DBi and the Robinson Township Volunteer fire truck recently, when the snowplow caught fire and the driver had to bail out and the fire-fighters were called upon to respond to the blaze despite the heavy snow conditions and slippery roads.
“It was quite an ordeal,” stated Doug Wismer, fire chief for the Robinson Township volunteer fire department in an interview with the Recorder this past Saturday.
“It involved the DBi plow that works in the two Western Manitoulin townships (Dawson-Robinson),” said Mr. Wismer. “I understand the snowplow driver for DBi was plowing at the time when apparently the power steering hose in the engine went and caught fire. The driver had to bail out and he was quite a distance away from anywhere that he could call for help by phone or cellphone. He had to walk well over a kilometre to get to a phone to call for help.”
“We received a call of the fire at around 7 pm, but the snowplow had probably been burning for an hour when we got there,” continued Mr. Wismer. “The entire engine and cab of the plow was destroyed by the time we arrived.”
Mr. Wismer said adding to the tough conditions is that “it was really snowing hard that night (Thursday, April 7) with eight inches of snow falling in the area that night and the roads being really icy and treacherous.”
Smelts are running!
KAGAWONG—The smelts are running in earnest on the Kagawong River.
Craig Jackson of Bridal Veil Esso told the Recorder on Monday, “they (smelts) started to run around Wednesday (of last week) and there was apparently a lot of people here (Kagawong) on the weekend.”
“I think those that are catching them are doing alright, I’ve heard the smelts are bigger than they were last year,” added Mr. Jackson.