Today marks 30 years since the “Hagersville Tire Fire.”
As we look back on the fire we spoke to Randy Papple, a retired Deputy Chief of the Brant/Brantford Paramedic Service who was working full-time for the Hagersville Ambulance Service and as a volunteer firefighter at the time.
He explains that the entire region came together to fight the fire.
After 30 years, Papple thinks back on the fire, which he believes is the biggest he ever saw, and remembers the heat of the tire fire along with the difficulties that arose from it.
He also recalls pulling double duty over those 17 days, on the scene as a paramedic only to come home, eat, and head back out the door.
Papple says that everyone involved in battling the blaze was proud of the work they did putting it out and says both the province and Federal government were a big help in making sure they had support.