Emergency crews are on the scene after a barge caught fire in Victoria’s Gorge waterway Friday afternoon.
Victoria Fire Chief Paul Bruce said they received a call at about 2:10 p.m. and their crews responded quickly to the barge. After arriving on the scene Bruce said crews got their ladders set up before transitioning into a more substantial pumping system by bringing in another fire engine.
The fireboat was also deployed and crews got the barge boomed as quickly as possible.
Fire fighters have taken a break with the water to see if the barge remains stable and to make sure the water is draining properly off the barge. Bruce said they are also checking to see if there are any contaminants in the water.
Smoke was billowing from the burning barge but Bruce said it was good the wind was taking the toxic smoke away where it can safely dissipate.
No one was hurt in the incident.
This is the same area where a barge carrying scrap cars tipped in August 2015. More than 100 cars fall into the water when the Seaspan barge started tipping near the 2300-block of Jutland Road on Aug. 28, 2015.
No one was injured in that incident but the company had to wait for the tide to drop to lighten the load on the barge, which had a 3,750 metric-ton capacity.
Bruce said it is too early to tell what sparked the blaze. An investigation will be done in the coming weeks.
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