Despite a full response from the Port Alberni Fire Department (PAFD), a cedar mill on Hector Road was destroyed by a fire early in the morning of Tuesday, July 25th.
At around 3:30 a.m. the fire was called into the PAFD and all available on and off-duty firefighters responded to the blaze.
In total, PAFD responded with three engines, one ladder vehicle, two water tenders, two command vehicles and 21 personnel.
“While en route, our duty captain upgraded it to a mutual aid call for Sproat Lake volunteer fire department to also respond with a fire engine and two water tenders,” said Chief Mike Owens of the PAFD.
“That area doesn’t have fire hydrants in close proximity to that address.”
Owens told Victoria Buzz that when crews arrived at the scene of the fire, they found the structure fully engulfed.
“Firefighters worked until just after 6:30 a.m. suppressing that fire while the two Sproat Lake water tenders were providing a water shuttle to provide us with water,” explained Chief Owens.
Things got complicated for the fire department when around 4:30 a.m., just one hour into battling the Hector Road Fire, a nearby ambulance crew called in a fire that had started in a hedge in close proximity to a residence on 14th Avenue and Redford Street
“Fortunately we did have another crew that was in-station at the time and were able to respond to that second event and suppress that fire before it had a chance to spread into that home,” Chief Owens told Victoria Buzz.
“There was no damage to the building on the second one.”
Owens said that Hector Road is actually located outside Port Alberni and is on Tseshaht territory, which means the RCMP will be leading the investigation into what caused the cedar mill to ignite, with an investigator from PAFD aiding their efforts.
At this time, the cause of the fire is unknown and the investigation is ongoing.
