SOUTH DUNDAS – A 227-acre wheat field near Barnhardt Road was the scene of a significant land fire July 28.
While the fire was eventually brought under control and the spreading flames contained and doused, the whole experience left farmers Ian and Tammy Mudde “gravely concerned” about how the events unfolded that day.
The Muddes drafted and circulated a letter outlining their concerns and circulated it to municipal officials and this publication last week.
In the letter they outlined, and recounted the events of that day.
The letter stated that: At 1 p.m. on the afternoon of Monday, July 28, 2025, while harvesting their winter wheat field near Barnhardt Road, they suddenly noticed the large square baler and several 3×3 foot straw bales on fire.
Five field workers on site with six fire extinguishers immediately took action but were unsuccessful in their efforts as the fire was spreading too quickly amongst the two-foot-high windrows of dry straw. They called 911 and unhooked the tractor from the baler and moved bales and equipment far away from the area.
It was at the point where firefighters arrived on scene that the Muddes questioned decisions being made about how the spreading fire was being attacked.
What they wanted to see was water tankers being sent immediately and directly into the field, but that did not happen.
All three South Dundas stations and two North Dundas stations were called in due to the size and nature of the fire, according to South Dundas Chief Administrative Officer Ben deHaan, who prepared a formal response to the landowner concerns raised.
While eventually 16 firefighters attended the scene, the pumper tanker from the Morrisburg Station and the SDFES forestry unit were the first two apparatus on scene with four personnel, one of whom was the fire chief filling the role of pump operator because he was on scene and a certified pump operator.
The Mudde letter suggested that they saw the Forestry Unit as insufficient, “providing only minimal assistance” in the effort to extinguish quickly spreading flames.
SDFES has an ongoing shortage of firefighters and recruiting efforts are ongoing. “It’s difficult for us to get enough people responding to calls, especially when they work out of town, and especially in the mid day; it’s a challenge,” said deHaan. Adding that this is not a challenge that’s unique to South Dundas and its fire service. SDFES fire chief Jeremy Alldred-Hughes confirmed that pump certification is one of the areas identified that SDFES is actively working to improve.
To address that shortage of pump operators SDFES currently has 10 members of the fire service enrolled in the in-house training program just underway. “So we will have another good bulk of people certified as pump operators by early October,” said Alldred-Hughes.
As more firefighters and apparatus arrived at the fire scene, the attack evolved to include firefighters working to try to extinguish the fire using brooms, forks and water backpacks.
“That’s the standard operational approach to these types of fires,” said deHaan.
Seeing this as insufficient because “this was no small grass fire,” the Muddes took it upon themselves to do what they could to save their crop.
Ian jumped into the combine and began to create a break by harvesting standing wheat that was starting to catch fire. The Muddes brought in a large tractor and disc to add to the crop saving efforts and called in a friend with a water-filled sprayer to help by dousing the remaining bales of straw. Another neighbour and his workers overturned ground to prevent fire from spreading to his crops and greenhouses.
Once these efforts had eliminated the flames a pumper truck was sent into the field.
“Upon reflection this is one of the scariest days we have experienced in our farming career. We are left feeling disappointed and completely perplexed with the decisions made by the fire chief that day,” said the Muddes.
deHaan addressed the concerns about any decisions regarding tanker units.
“For us, our focus is on mitigating risk to the greatest extent possible,” said deHaan. “Mitigating that risk could include avoiding taking heavy equipment into a field, risking damage that could lead to it ending up out of service. We have to make that decision considering what’s best for that moment and what’s right to ensure we have the right resources available to protect our community as future calls come in. If a primary unit ends up out of service on a call with no risk to human lives, then we wouldn’t have it to respond to the next residential house fire.”
“We have to weigh the level of risk and that’s not just to property, its risk to life too,” added Alldred-Hughes. It’s about not putting ourselves in a situation where we compromise safety now and in the future.”
The Muddes also expressed concern for firefighter safety.
“We are very thankful that no one was hurt because of the fire or circumstances that unfolded during the event.” said the Muddes. “We appreciated the hard work and dedication of the volunteer firefighters who were on site. However, they should have been provided with an adequate water supply to manage the fire.”
“Firefighter safety is our top priority,” said deHaan. “With respect to the safety of our firefighters, EMS were on scene to ensure the safety and well being of the firefighters working on scene There was no risk to life in that respect.”
“We are taking a close look at all the events that unfolded that day and we appreciate that the Muddes have brought their concerns forward,” deHaan said.
“It’s now up to us to engage with them and learn some lessons so we can do our best to put our best foot forward. We always appreciate learning how we can improve,” added deHaan. “Clearer communication is an important take away from this and a good lesson as we continue to learn. There’s always room for improvement as we continue to create efficiencies in our fire service and we always welcome feedback.”
“We understand that it’s a stressful time when an event like this occurs and we’re always looking to improve to better serve our community and its members.”
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