Breaking News – Video – Photo Gallery – Firefighters Spend Nearly 10 Hours Battling Massive Straw Fire in Cobourg

Pete Fisher
2 hours ago
• Categories: Local, Photo Gallery

It was a long and exhausting day for firefighters after a massive straw fire broke out in the east end of Cobourg on Thursday, July 16, 2026.

The Cobourg Fire Department was dispatched to what was initially reported as a grass fire on Workman Road at 3:45 p.m. When crews arrived, they discovered approximately 150 large straw bales fully involved, with intense flames and thick smoke spreading rapidly across the road.

Acting Fire Chief Kevin Ashfield said firefighters were met with “heavy flames and smoke” coming from the enormous straw pile.

With no municipal hydrants available in the rural area, firefighters immediately faced another challenge. Because Cobourg Fire Department does not operate tanker trucks, Hamilton Township Fire Department was contacted for water tanker support. However, Hamilton crews had been dispatched just one minute later, at 3:46 p.m., to a separate hay field fire on Nagle Road at Hircock Road, north of Highway 401.

As a result, Alnwick/Haldimand Township Fire Department was requested for mutual aid and tanker support at 3:50 p.m. Once Hamilton Township firefighters had extinguished the hay field fire, they also responded to assist on Workman Road.

“Our main concern was keeping it from getting into those hydro lines,” Ashfield said.

Heavy equipment was brought in to dismantle the tightly packed pile of burning straw, but extinguishing a fire involving approximately 150 bales is a painstaking process that takes hours.

“We knocked down the major part of the fire and then the excavator pushes the bales apart, and we’ll keep adding more water until we finally get it out,” Ashfield explained.

He said straw and hay fires are among the most stubborn fires firefighters encounter because of how densely the material is packed.

“Once that fire gets inside those bales it’s hard to put out and it keeps combusting inside with all the heat. Eventually we have to keep pulling it apart bit by bit.”

Complicating the operation was a strong east wind that periodically pushed thick smoke across Workman Road, reducing visibility to near zero.

Firefighters also battled extreme heat. With temperatures hovering around 30 degrees Celsius, crews wearing full bunker gear and self-contained breathing apparatus climbed over and crawled through piles of burning straw to reach hidden hot spots.

To prevent heat-related injuries, firefighters were rotated regularly through a rehabilitation area.

“For every crew working, we had two backup crews,” Ashfield said. “We’re circulating everybody through. We have a rehab area set up, active cooling, lots of water, and we’re keeping everyone hydrated. We’re trying to cycle crews as much as we can.”

As the evening wore on, additional firefighters were called in to relieve those who had been working since the initial dispatch.

Ashfield praised Northumberland County’s Mutual Aid system, saying the response demonstrated the strength of cooperation between neighbouring fire departments.

“In these rural areas with no hydrants, we couldn’t do this by ourselves. The mutual aid partners we have are amazing. They’re here to help us, and we go out and help them at times. It’s a partnership between all our departments.”

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

After nearly 10 hours of work, the final crews cleared the scene and returned to their stations at approximately 1 a.m., when the fire was officially declared extinguished.