An equipment/storage shed containing sacks of dry fertilizer and pesticide went up in flames on Tuesday evening, lighting the night sky with flames that were visible for miles around.
The fire was reported at 6:20 p.m. at Coast Cranberries’ fields at 21710 Allard Cres. The building, located opposite the entrance to Derby Reach Regional Park, was destroyed.
“We did everything in our power to minimize damage to the environment,” said Bruce Ferguson, who speaks for the Township’s fire department.
The fire department called in Canutec, the Canadian Transport Emergency Centre, which is part of the Transport of Dangerous Goods Directorate of Transport Canada, an advisory service providing technical information during a dangerous goods emergency.
According to Canutec personnel who arrived at the site “we did exactly what we had to do,” Ferguson said.
That included plugging storm drains.
The building loss is estimate to reach between $150,000 and $200,000.
“The contents will far exceed that,” Ferguson added.
The structure, made of metal cladding over wood, also destroyed equipment being stored for the construction of new buildings nearby. Neither of these was damaged.
Workers were on the new building site when the fire broke out, and they were not injured.
Township investigator are working with the RCMP to probe the cause of the fire, “but at this point it doesn’t appear to be suspicious,” Ferguson said.
Because there is no water in that area of northwest Langley, fire crews from several fire halls were called in to fight the blaze and provide a convoy of water tankers.
Shortly after 11 p.m. that night, firefighters from Brookswood and Murrayville extinguished a fire in a building at 3430 208 St. When smouldering peat moss ignited, the flames spread to the barn.
Damage is estimated at $4,000 to $5,000.