Derek Neary
Northern News Services

NNSL (May 24/99) - One of the Deh Cho's most popular rest stops lost its gas bar to fire Tuesday night, but the whole operation could have gone up in a fireball if the nearby fuel tanks had exploded.

The gas bar, office and storage area at Checkpoint, located at the junction of the Mackenzie Highway and the Liard Trail, burnt to the ground in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Fortunately, the two 50,000 litre fuel tanks, which were only about three metres from the gas bar and had been replenished just days before the incident, didn't blow up.

"I was just scared something was going to happen to those tanks," said Wayne McKay, who owns the business with his wife Lynn. "You can imagine what I was thinking: 'The entire friggin' block is going to go.' I was just out of control."

It was Lynn who initially noticed that something was wrong shortly before midnight on Tuesday. Wayne was in bed when she informed him that the lights were flickering in their restaurant/motel building where the McKays live with their three children -- about 20 metres from the gas bar. Wayne rolled out of bed and got dressed to investigate.

"I took a look at the shop (gas bar) and there was an orange glow in the window," he recalled.

In a panic, he scrambled to the power plant behind the gas bar and cut the electricity. He then hurried back inside the restaurant/motel shouting, "The shop's on fire. The shop's on fire."

Lynn got their two youngest children, Sheldon, 11, and Jeffrey, 6, outside, into a truck and drove them a safe distance away. Their eldest son, 18-year-old Steven, remained composed and ran to a neighbouring wood-mill camp where he used a satellite phone to notify the Fort Simpson Fire Department. After Wayne ensured two guests were out of the motel there was nothing left he could do but wait for the fire department to arrive from Fort Simpson, 65 kilometres away.

"I could visualize a big explosion and everything going with it," said Wayne.

After receiving the call, a member of the Fort Simpson Fire Department had to call ahead to ensure the ferry would be ready to go. It had just shut down after making its last crossing of the night and had to start up again.

The pumper truck and ambulance were on the scene within an hour. Fire chief Pat Rowe said the firefighters concentrated on keeping the fuel tanks cool and allowed the building to essentially burn itself out. He noted that the paint on the tanks had blistered from the heat. Although they are designed not to explode, Hay River assistant fire marshall Kellie Mitchell said the venting system on the tanks has been known to fail.

Mitchell and Rowe spent Thursday inspecting the scene, but had not yet determined a conclusive cause of the fire. McKay estimates the damage to be roughly $250,000 as the building, which was insured, also housed all his tools, a brand new four-wheeler and other valuables.

"It sets us back," he said, adding that if and when the gas bar is rebuilt, it won't be so close to the fuel tanks next time.

Mostly, he was thankful that his family escaped unharmed.

"I must have asked you (Lynn) a thousand times, 'Where are the kids,'" he said of the chaotic atmosphere during the ordeal.

He and Lynn are also very appreciative of the calls from concerned residents of Fort Simpson and Jean Marie River. They're said they're equally thankful for the performance of the firefighters.

"Hats off to the Fort Simpson Fire Department," Wayne said. "They don't know how much of a load they took off my shoulders when I saw those red lights coming around the corner."