A string of fire calls ended last week with a potentially devastating blaze at Suncoast Lumber and Milling at the top of Field Road.
The Sechelt Fire department had responded to 32 fire calls in 30 days when they were called to the Field Road fire last Wednesday (Aug. 30).
"It's been a very busy tourist season with lots of calls out to car crashes, car fires and ambulance assists. We also went out to some beach fires and grass fires and some general building alarm calls," Sechelt fire chief Bill Higgs said.
The Suncoast Lumber and Milling fire started while firefighters were doing general fire ground practices at the bottom of Field Road.
"It was one of those serendipity kind of things. We were just two blocks away and we probably saved 12 minutes in response time," Higgs said, noting the fire would have spread quickly and possibly could have compromised the Sunshine Coast SPCA next door.
Higgs said this is the second major fire at the mill and both times firefighters were nearby, cutting response time and enabling them to stop the fire before it spread.
"It was just so dry up there and cedar mills are really designed to burn down with all the stacks of dry cedar around," Higgs said.
Once on scene, firefighters found one man with significant burns to his body and a car on fire, which seems to be where the blaze originated.
"Luckily there was an off-duty ambulance nearby that saw the smoke and came out to assist," Higgs said.
Firefighters started dousing the blaze that had already spread to a few piles of lumber nearby.
"It was moving at a significant speed," Higgs said.
He doubts much of the building could have been saved if the firefighters weren't nearby.
"There were the piles of dry cedar and piles of hog fuel which is basically ground up cedar bits, and it was all about to be involved," Higgs said.
Firefighters knocked the blaze down quickly, saving significant damage, although they still aren't sure how the fire started."We're still not quite clear on what happened," Higgs said, noting police are now investigating the cause.
The man who was treated at the scene for first and second degree burns was taken to hospital where he still was at press time. Sgt. Gerry Webb noted Sunshine Coast RCMP are waiting to interview the man once he is released from hospital.
Higgs noted the public interfered in the Field Road fire by driving past barricades and onto the fire ground, making the situation more dangerous for everyone.
"People saw the smoke and drove right into the fire scene, causing lots of problems for us," Higgs said. "They were driving over hoses, which is a criminal offence. They could have caused one of our hoses to burst. People driving into our fire scenes are an added risk."
He noted the public is allowed to come and watch the firefighters when they are called out to emergencies but they must stay behind the barriers and not bring their cars nearby.
"We do try to accommodate the public, but we just don't need the added risk of people driving into the fire scene," he added.
