Kelowna fire crews remain at the scene of a commercial blaze off McCurdy Road.
Fire dispatch confirms that crews were called out to the blaze around 5 a.m. Monday morning.
“On arrival we had 20 foot flames coming from the centre of the building,” Kelowna Fire department platoon captain Kelly Stephens told Global News.
The commercial complex is called the Blue Heights Industrial Park, which houses at least four businesses.
The fire was so intense, it destroyed the building.
“It was a defensive fire right from the very beginning.” Stephens said. “We had to have crews go in only at one point initially in order to do a quick search to make sure that everybody was out of the building.”
Two of the businesses affected include an escort agency and what’s believed to be a marijuana growing facility.
Crews responded to the fire with more than 40 firefighters, five engines and two ladder trucks.
The Kelowna Fire department told Global News it will be bringing in an excavator to properly put out any hot spots and sift through the rubble to try and determine a cause.
The City of Kelowna also brought in suction trucks to prevent water damage to neighboring businesses.