By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — Many questions remain unanswered following a massive Friday night fire that levelled three buildings on a farmyard south of Davidson.

Local firefighters responded to the call at 11:40 p.m. on Sept. 1.

They remained on site for the next 18 hours, fighting to bring the fire under control and preventing its spread to the rest of the yard.

The fire destroyed a house and two barns in the yard, located seven kilometres south of Davidson on the east side of Highway 11.

Jerry Bezanson, who owned the property and lived there, is believed to have died in the fire, though officials would not confirm this last week.

The dramatic blaze caught the attention of highway travellers and local residents, and could reportedly be seen as far away as Aylesbury.

Police were monitoring the yard the following day, maintaining site security while the investigation continued.

The remains of multiple vintage vehicles could be seen underneath the wreckage of the long barn that dominated the yard.

Fire chief Clayton Schilling said he could not provide further details on the incident, as it is subject to an ongoing criminal investigation.

Members of the Craik RCMP detachment also responded to the fire, along with additional investigative units.

Officers confirmed to the Leader that three structures were involved, but would not confirm any further details. No details were provided on the cause or catalyst for the fire.

A nearby resident said he had driven by the farm earlier on Friday and saw Bezanson moving some of the vehicles in his yard.

The large barn, measuring 36’ by 200’, was constructed in 1980 by the previous owner, Glen Schollar, who ran a pig farm there.

Schollar told the Leader last week that he’d also moved a second barn onto the site from the old Ross Fawell farm. (He said he eventually lost the land due to financial hardship, saying it “cost more than the pigs were worth.”)

Bezanson and his then-wife Cyndi purchased the land sometime in 2002, converting the barn into a shop for his antique auto restoration business.

A couple of years later, they moved their house to the yard from their previous residence at Belle Plaine.

Cyndi later began raising free-range turkeys and chickens on the farm.

Members of the Bezanson family declined interview requests from the Leader last week.

Firefighters from Craik provided assistance to the Davidson crew during the fire, while other locals dropped off lunch, coffee and other refreshments over the course of the day.

The Davidson firefighters finally returned to the fire hall at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 2.

Fighting the fire, combined with issues at the Davidson well, effectively depleted the town’s water reserves.

A notice posted on social media on Sept. 2 asked town residents to refrain from “any and all unnecessary and excessive water use,” including watering, as water levels were being replenished.