A large fire broke out in the recycling pile at Direct Disposal Aug. 1, likely due to spontaneous combustion, although the investigation is still ongoing.
Sechelt volunteer firefighters were alerted to the fire at 5920 Sechelt Inlet Road at about 9:10 p.m. and they called for mutual aid from the Halfmoon Bay department.
Once on scene they found a “significant” fire raging in the company’s recycling pile that was yet to be sorted, according to Sechelt Fire Chief Trevor Pike.
“That pile consisted of all kinds of things – I can’t even tell you everything that was in it, but it was mostly wood, glass, plastics and cardboards,” Pike said.
He noted the pile was about 150 feet (46 metres) across and about 30 feet (nine metres) high.
“And the flames were coming off the top of that at about 40 to 50 feet,” Pike said.
“So the top of the fire would probably be 60 to 70 feet off the ground and the pile itself was on fire. So it was fairly significant in size and it took a lot of water to put it out.”
Pike said a big concern for firefighters was the nearby forest, so they focused efforts on suppressing the flames to prevent them from starting a forest fire. They also focused on saving the Direct Disposal building beside the recycling pile.
Once the fire was under control, firefighters had to use an excavator to turn the pile and get to the root of the problem.
“We got into the middle of this fire with an excavator and we were still finding hot burning coals right down in the guts of the fire, so I believe – and this is speculation at his time because the fire is still under investigation – I believe the cause of the fire was spontaneous combustion caused by some oily rags or some materials that were somewhere down deep in the pile,” Pike said.
“We’ve pretty much ruled out arson at this time because arson fires would usually be on the surface.”
It took several hours to ensure the fire was out and firefighters were able to save all the company’s property from damage during the event. In total, 36 firefighters were on scene.
The event brought lots of interest from the community and some people drove or walked up to the scene trying to get a photo.
The influx of “looky-loos” made for some challenging times for firefighters, who had to redirect the public and keep them out of the fire zone. At one point Pike said the number of cars on the road near Direct Disposal made it hard for fire crews to get their trucks in the area.
“I’d like to get a message out to the public about when we do have significant sized fires like this, for people to stay away from them,” Pike said.
“Avoid the urge to drive up close to get pictures or whatnot because it really hinders fire department access – and for a fire like this, time is crucial.”
