FORT QU’APPELLE — A Fort Qu’Appelle teenager is being praised for his bravery after running into a burning home to search for a neighbour on Tuesday.
Blaze Beach, 17, was walking home from a pet-sitting job when he noticed thick smoke billowing from a street near his house. Upon rushing to the scene, he found a yellow house completely engulfed in flames.
While some residents had safely escaped the blaze with the help of neighbours, onlookers feared another man was trapped.
“Everybody thought that Rick, their neighbour, was still inside his house because his car was in the driveway,” Beach said.
Fearing for the man’s life, Beach and an unidentified bystander sprang into action. After a failed attempt to break the front window, the pair successfully kicked in the back door.
“He and I both ran inside and searched through the house really quickly to try and find Rick,” Beach said. “Thankfully, he was not home. He was down the street at his business.”
The fire, which originated at 121 Pasqua Ave. S., was so severe that flames shot through the roof and quickly spread to a neighbouring property at 136 Pasqua Ave. S. Fort Qu’Appelle Fire Chief Dave Sabirsh confirmed crews deployed hose lines to save the second house, remaining at the scene for about two and a half hours.
Beach’s father, Randy, was closing his store on Main Street when he saw the smoke. He rushed home in a panic to check on his family, only to receive a phone call shortly afterward from his son, who was asking for the homeowner’s contact information.
“When I heard what he did, I wasn’t too surprised,” Randy Beach said. “He’s a pretty good kid and he’s done things like this before where he just goes and helps when he has to. I probably would have been concerned or a lot more worried if I knew it was happening at the time.”
Paramedics evaluated the younger Beach for smoke exposure at the scene before giving him a clean bill of health.
While the fire devastated the properties, displacing a woman and her son from the upstairs and a man from the basement suite, no injuries were reported. The incident marks the fourth or fifth fire on that specific block in recent years, according to Randy Beach.
Following his harrowing experience, Blaze Beach is now contemplating a new path to help his community.
“I had never thought about becoming a firefighter before, but since the other day, a lot of people have been telling me I should join our town’s volunteer fire department, which I’ve definitely been thinking about,” he said.
His father fully supports the potential career move, praising the dedication of the local volunteer crews who fought the blaze.
“It’s always awesome to help out and do what you can,” Randy Beach said.
