UPDATED: Massive fire in Waneta demolishes local business
By Kyra Hoggan
UPDATE:
At 12:50 p.m., KBRFR Chief Terry Martin added there were 26 vehicles in and around the structure that were completely destroyed, potentially impacting dozens of individual property owners.
“The damage estimate will be quite high – I’m not even going to hazard a guess at this point,” he said. “A claims adjustor will be coming in from Kamloops, probably tomorrow.”
He said there is no reason, at this point, for them to treat the fire as suspicious, but promised to issue a press release when the cause of the fire is determined.
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Flames as high as 50-feet greeted fire crews this morning when they responded to 8055 Old Waneta Road after receiving a 9-1-1 call at roughly 6:30 a.m.
Kootenay Boundary Regional Fire Rescue Acting Captain Glen Gallamore said workers at Able Plastic, off Highway 3B, noticed the fire in an adjacent business (behind JF Auto) and called it in.
Gallamore said crews arrived to find an industrial storage unit fully involved – the building, around 6,000 square feet, was used to store RVs, motorhomes, boats, vehicles, etc., creating a concern around burning chemicals and fuel.
“We had three stations there – Trail, Warfield and Montrose, with roughly 30 to 35 firefighters,” he said, adding they had the fire contained by about 8 a.m.
He said the entire building and its contents were destroyed, and neighbouring Able Plastics sustained heat damage. No estimate is yet available as to cost of the damages, nor are officials willing to speculate as to cause.
“It’s under investigation,” Gallamore said.
Crews were still engaged in mop-up activities, extinguishing hot spots, as of 11:25 a.m., and Gallamore said investigators should be able to begin combing through the site this afternoon.
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