Cochrane’s soaring population prompts concerns over firefighting resources

First there was a large brush fire near Ghost Lake, which broke out around 1 p.m. on Thursday. Then, around 6 p.m., another fire in a townhouse complex in Cochrane’s Heartland neighbourhood erupted, leaving six families homeless. With fire crews from the Cochrane’s single fire station already on scene of the brush fire, the town’s firefighters were forced to call in help from nearby departments in Calgary and Redwood Meadows.“Six families were immediately evacuated,” said Jared Wallace, interim fire chief with Cochrane Fire Services.While the resident of one townhome told Global News the fire started when his barbecue “basically just exploded,” Wallace said investigators are still working to determine exactly what happened.“It’s starting to indicate that perhaps the fire started on the outside of the building and then worked its way inside.” Story continues below advertisement At the time the fire in the Cochrane townhouse complex broke out, a large amount of the town’s firefighting resources were already on scene of a large brush fire west of town. Global News Two large fires burning at the same time, along with Cochrane’s booming population — an increase of 22.8 per cent over the past five years — is prompting calls from