Industrial blaze in West Kelowna deemed not suspicious by fire department

An industrial fire in West Kelowna that emergency crews doused on Friday is thought to have been electrically caused and is not considered suspicious.

West Kelowna Fire Rescue said crews responded to the blaze at Burnco Rock Products Ltd. on Auburn Road shortly after 6 a.m.

Firefighters spent approximately six hours battling the blaze.

“Due to energized electrical equipment involved in the fire, and for the safety of firefighters, crews attacked the fire defensively from the outside of the building,” WKFR said in a press release on Friday morning.

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Twenty-five firefighters and four fire trucks were on scene.

WKFR said crews originally fought a defensive battle “due to concerns of collapse of the roof and the building itself.”

On Friday afternoon, the fire department said “due to safety concerns and to the condition of the structure, investigators were not able to enter the building to complete a full investigation of the fire’s cause. However, it is likely that the fire was electrical in nature and is not considered suspicious.”

Earlier in the day, WKFR assistant fire chief Brent Watson told Global News that firefighters were able to access the electrical room, but were unable to turn the power off, with electrical arcing then occurring.

Watson said BC Hydro was then called in to turn off the power before crews could start battling the blaze.

He said the fire spread into the roof and extended from there.

“It was very windy when we arrived this morning,” said Watson, “and that fanned the fire and kept things going pretty good. It was a challenge.”

WKFR said fire crews were successful in saving a number of commercial vehicles parked around the building, as well as adjacent machinery and industrial infrastructure.