For even the most seasoned firefighters, the Perryton fire was a challenge many were unsure how to face.

“In my opinion, it was a lot worse than [the fire] in 2006,” said Scott Brewster, Fire Chief of the Canadian Volunteer Fire Department. “It was so hot that we couldn’t get close to it, and pretty much we just made the decision right away that we just had to protect everybody we could and get them out of the way.”

Complete details of the tragedy from the fire chief’s perspective can be found here.