Nobody was injured, but three fires in the past two weeks did hundreds of thousands of dollars in property damage and disrupted lives and livelihoods.
On Dec. 30 fire destroyed a home in the 400 block of Pratt Road, just outside Gibsons.
Gibsons Fire Chief Rob Michael said there was no one there when the fire broke out, and people passing by on the road called 911 around 3:45 p.m. after seeing a plume of smoke.
By the time firefighters got there, it was too late to save the building.
“It was fully involved upon my arrival, and we actually had a structural collapse a couple of minutes after,” Michael said.
The cause is listed as “undetermined” for now.
A go-fund-me page (Doug & Kaija’s House Fire Relief) has been set up for the residents, who lost everything. As of Jan. 4 it had already brought in more than $10,000.
Michael also said fire investigators are still looking into a Dec. 27 fire at Haley Dodge SC in Gibsons that destroyed four vehicles on the lot and damaged a handful of others.
Michael said the call came in around 3 a.m. and they responded with four trucks and 17 firefighters.
A BC Hydro crew had to deal with high-voltage lines near the car lot to make it safe for the firefighters to get in and tackle the blaze. It took about four-and-a-half hours to put out.
Michael said a preliminary investigation has found the fire likely started in one of the trucks that was destroyed and spread from there, but it could take some time to determine what sparked it.
“The thing with vehicle fires, and how they burn and how hot they burn, is that it’s pretty difficult to gather evidence that points to more accurate point [of origin],” Michael said.
The dealership was able to reopen for business the following day. Luke O’Loughlin, a sales manager at Haley Dodge, told Coast Reporter two new trucks, a truck owned by an employee, and an SUV used as a courtesy vehicle were destroyed, and five or six other vehicles were damaged.
Damage to the building was limited.
He said the company carries insurance that covers the inventory on the lot as well as the building.
O’Loughlin also said the dealership had tremendous support from its parent company, Lower Mainland-based Haley Auto Group, which also owns Haley GM in Wilson Creek. He said jobs at the two dealerships support “upwards of 50 families” so they were relieved that the fire didn’t force them to shut down for more than a day.
Sunshine Coast RCMP Sgt. Chris Backus said police have opened a file on the fire, and are staying involved in the investigation at this point. Anyone with information is asked to call the detachment at 604-885-2266 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
The most recent fire was Jan. 2 in the Sandy Hook area of Sechelt.
Sechelt Fire Chief Trevor Pike said the department got the call just before 11:30 a.m. and had 26 firefighters and four trucks on the scene at the 5900 block of Sandy Hook Road within minutes. An engine team from Roberts Creek was also called in, and firefighters from Halfmoon Bay were on standby to cover.
Pike said they were able to save the structure, but there was significant damage.
The fire started by accident. The owner of the home had cleaned out his wood stove and put the hot ashes in a plastic bucket, and left the bucket outside near the house and a discarded Christmas tree.
“The bucket started on fire, which then ignited the Christmas tree on fire and that lit up the cedar siding and it went up the wall and into the attic,” explained Pike.
Pike said it illustrates an important safety message for people with woodstoves. “When you’re taking hot ashes out of a fireplace or wood stove, place them in an non-combustible bucket, take them outside, soak them down with water and make sure you place them far away from combustible items.”
According to Pike, the Sechelt Fire Department has responded to at least four fires caused by improperly discarded ash in the past three years.
