Fire at Augusta Recyclers on July 27 reduced a pile of recycling to rubble and caused structural damage to vinyl siding on an adjoining building.
Malaspina Volunteer Fire Department chief Dave Keiver said the call for the fire came in at 6:44 pm. He said when the fire department arrived on scene, the construction and demolition pile, desitined for landfill in Washington State, was fully engulfed in flames.
“We were told on our page that it was fully engulfed,” said Keiver. “It was contained, because it was in a cement enclosure. There was no wind, so it was a great relief, because if it had been windy it could have spread up into the bush.”
Keiver said the fire department was able to contain the fire and slowly put it out. The fire fight was complicated because there were no hydrants in the neighbourhood.
Keiver said the fire department shuttled water from the Myrtle Pond water system and also from the City of Powell River, using a hydrant in the Beach Gardens Resort area.
He said an Augusta employee was at the scene, running an excavator, so when the fire was knocked back, he could get in and expose the hot spots for extinguishing.
Keiver said the fire was completely extinguished and that Malaspina Volunteer Fire Department wrapped up at the scene at 5:04 am on July 28. Cause of the fire is not known at this time. The fire chief said Malaspina Volunteer Fire Department would be leading the investigation.
About one-third of the Malaspina firefighters turned out for the fire.
“We had adequate people for the task,” said Keiver. “I was happy with that.”
In terms of equipment response, the department deployed two engines and three tenders to shuttle water to the fire site. One engine was on an adjacent property where the fire department was protecting exposures of a building.
Keiver said the other engine was deployed above the fire on the Augusta property, so trees and brush close to the fire could be protected.
Other agencies were involved at the scene. Keiver said BC Ambulance was there, as were the RCMP. He said his department notified the forest service of the fire, so it was aware of what was going on.
“If needed, we could have deployed them, but we didn’t need them,” said Keiver. “They were on standby anyway.”
Powell River Fire Rescue also assisted in getting the hydrant by the Beach Gardens sorted out.
“It sped things up immensely,” said Keiver.
He added that Augusta is back in business because there is no damage to any of its structures. According to Keiver, the only property damage was on an adjacent building, where vinyl siding was melted by radiant heat from the fire.
There were no injuries to anyone as a result of the incident.
Keiver said the fire was handled very well and everybody involved did their jobs. He said he is now attending to a lot of paperwork.
