Despite the best efforts of emergency crews, only some of the animals were rescued from Sunday’s fire at Best West Pet Food Store in Steinbach.
Manager Steven Larson is thankful his employee was not injured, and he is heartbroken for the animals they could not save.
Larson says the employee smelled smoke during the afternoon and saw it coming in through the air vents, and then called 911.
By the time he got to the store, fire crews had already arrived.
Larson says, at first, it did not appear to be a big deal.
“For the first hour or so, we were getting ready, buying fans because it looked like it wasn't going to be a big issue,” he recalls. “So, we were just getting ready to try to air out the store as best as we can to try to have it ready (for opening on Monday). Then, all of a sudden, after about an hour in, we realized that was not going to be the case. It turned from something that was like ‘oh, this sucks but we'll get through it’ to ‘oh, shoot. This is very severe.’”
Larson offers heartfelt gratitude for the firefighters and appreciates their efforts in rescuing as many animals as possible.
“I really want to thank the firefighters that went in specifically for that reason, to save the ones they could,” he says. “But they got to a point where they were just needed elsewhere, and the smoke was too thick and the heat was just getting to an insane amount where they just couldn't save them all, unfortunately. So, we only got a few of them, so that part's probably the hardest.”
He reports they have found temporary housing for the rescued animals and notes that Steinbach and Area Animal Rescue was quick to reach out and offer support.
Larson also appreciates the many messages of support he and his staff team have received. He says it’s difficult to deal with losing some of the animals to the fire.
“Working at a pet store, you love all animals,” he says. “So, having that happen is definitely something that's going to bother me for a while, I'm sure other people too.”