Rec staff and fire fighters quickly contain a fire outside the GF arena

By Shara JJ Cooper

A small fire at the Grand Forks arena could have been much worse, according to Grand Forks Fire Rescue chief Dale Heriot. 

The fire started at the Grand Forks and District Aquatic Centre and Arena around 10:45 Thursday morning when staff were weeding and had a "mishap," according to Heriot. 

The result was a fire that took hold on the outside of the arena. 

However, the fire could have been much worse. It was burning underneat a window which had a plate attached to it. The plate slowed the fire down. 

"That probably stopped it from going into the roof," said Heriot. 

He also said it was fortunate that staff were working on building the ice rink inside the arena. This meant they had water hoses nearby and were able to contain the fire. 

"They did a prtty good job of holding it until we go there," he said. 

Firefighters were on the scene for about an hour, but part of that time was spent going over the building to ensure it had not spread.