Fire crews were called to a rural part of Langley on Wednesday afternoon where flames had engulfed an equipment shed.
The fire at 208 Street and 102B Avenue produced a thick column of black smoke visible from the Golden Ears Bridge.
“My neighbour called me and thought my property was on fire, one of my barns, and I went and looked and it was actually my neighbour’s shop, like there was a fire outside of it, and then the building went up not long after I called 911,” neighbour Kelly Eaglestone-Glass told Global News.
“It accelerated really quickly and we started to get worried,” said Jacob Glass. “We heard at least six explosions.”
Langley deputy fire Chief Bruce Ferguson said that no one was hurt in the fire.
He said the fire was contained to a nine-by-15-metre shed, which mostly contained mechanical items such as tires, wheels, oxygen and acetylene tanks for welding and possibly a forklift.
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“Reportedly they were doing some welding at the front and it caught fire. And the occupant went to get a hose to try and battle the fire themselves and it got out of control,” Ferguson said.
The fire left the equipment shed completely destroyed, but did not spread to any nearby structures, Ferguson said.
He added that the biggest challenge was laying a water supply to the site of the fire itself.
In total, five fire trucks and about 20 firefighters were involved in putting the fire down.