Kamloops Fire Rescue responded last night to a building engulfed in flames in the Mount Paul Industrial Park, the second significant blaze firefighters tackled this week.
Fire inspector Ray Webster said investigators have determined the fire at Valley View Industries last night was caused by rags used to stain a gazebo inside the building that had been left in a garbage can. Valley View Industries supplies and installs cedar products.
@Kamscan @KFR not down just yet. Great response time though. View from Fountain Tire parking lot pic.twitter.com/SkIjBbtSHJ
— Susan Ogilvy (@pacific_opal) January 10, 2018
KFR got the call around 8:55 p.m. and crews were on site at 598 Okanagan Way for about six-and-a-half hours on Tuesday night.
“The being was fully engulfed when we got there,” Webster said, noting the insurance company has now taken over. “That building is completely to the ground.”
In other news, Cpl. Jodi Shelkie said RCMP are waiting for demolition at a site in Aberdeen where a human-caused fire also destroyed an abandoned building on Friday night.
Fire inspector Kevin Cassidy said Kamloops Fire Rescue responded at 5:18 p.m. on Jan. 5 to report of a fire at the corner of Hugh Allan Drive and Pacific Way. Multiple fire crews were there throughout the night.
The vacant restaurant wasn’t connected to any utilities at the time of the fire, and investigators determined it was human caused, but have not been able to identify the origin of the fire. The empty building was left structurally unstable following the blaze.
“It’s not safe for anyone to go in and investigate,” Cassidy said.
“The origin is undetermined and we can’t go into any more detail on it being human caused, the rest is undetermined.”
Shelkie said the RCMP file is open and the investigation is ongoing, but RCMP await demolition before investigators can gather evidence.
No injuries were reported in either fire.
