Fire and freezing temperatures don't mix.

There was a major fire in the area the other day. A small general store burned right down to the ground. It was in a remote community, something of a landmark.

By some strange coincidence, this fire occurred on what has to have been the coldest day of the year. This presented problems for the responders. After all, you fight fires with water. Water, when introduced to temperatures of -30 degrees Celsius, has this strange tendency to become a solid.

The fire fighters had to deal with everything from gloves and equipment frozen stiff and essentially useless, to extreme fatigue and possible frostbite.

I suppose this is something that these men and women are trained to expect and to deal with, but it still has to take a toll. I know from experience that frozen clothing gets very heavy. Add the weight of helmets, masks and breathing apparatus and the whole thing gets a little staggering. The average person would never be able to manage it.

It's just a shame to see a small business go like that. There is history in a place like that. The worst of it is that it was pretty much doomed from the first hint of smoke. It was far enough from the fire hall that it was going pretty good by the time anyone got there. The freezing cold temperatures just kind of put the final nail in the coffin.