Rosetown Co-op Agro Centre ‘a total loss’ after Saturday fire

The west central Saskatchewan community of Rosetown is grappling with a major loss this weekend.

Late Saturday night, the town’s Co-op Agro Centre burnt to the ground.

Mike Moon, the store’s general manager, said when he arrived at the scene just after 10 p.m.,  the building — which housed the sales floor and offices — was fully engulfed by the blaze. In a matter of hours, he said it had turned to rubble.

“The flames were burning slowly,” Moon remembered. “The wind (Saturday) night was quite strong so that actually probably helped feed the fire somewhat as well.”

By the time he left around 2:30 a.m., Moon said the destruction was still smouldering.

As of Sunday morning, he said “there’s nothing left” and it’s “a total loss.”

However, the general manager noted that he’s focusing on the silver lining: no one was hurt.

“Emergency services kept everything safe, kept the area clear and did their best to combat (the fire). Everything was contained to that building so it’s really fortunate that we didn’t lose anything else,” he explained, adding crews were able to spare the fertilizer bins.

While Moon said he and the rest of his staff are devastated about the fire, they’re also grateful for how the community rallied together to help.

“It’s gratifying to know that if something does happen, everyone does their part and everything goes out according to the plan that you had in place,” he said.

The cause of the blaze is still under investigation.

Rosetown is located roughly 115 kilometres southwest of Saskatoon.

— With files from 650 CKOM’s Brady Lang