The part of the building closest to the highway was still standing on Friday afternoon, but other parts had collapsed. People around applauded as crews destroyed what was left of the building.
Much of Pioneer Square in Mill Bay collapsed on Friday in the third fire in the empty building in six months.
The part of the building closest to the highway was still standing on Friday afternoon, but other parts had collapsed. People around applauded as crews destroyed what was left of the building.
The fire appears to have been extinguished by 4 p.m.
Asked by phone at the scene of the blaze earlier Friday afternoon, Mill Bay fire chief Ron Beck said the building was “completely lost” before adding, “It’s collapsing, I have to go.”
Heavy smoke billowed across the highway, which was closed in both directions on Schonigan-Mill Bay Road.
Traffic is bypassed via Cobble Hill Road and Shawnigan Lake Road, according to Emcon, which maintains highways. The oversized vehicles were headed for West Shawnigan Lake Road.
Firefighters from Malahat Fire Rescue and Cowichan Bay Fire Rescue were also at the scene.
You can see a fire truck firing water at the building from above.
The Mill Bay Fire Department responded to similar fires in the 12,000-square-foot structure, built in 1972, in February and November.
Mill Bay resident Craig Purdue said Friday’s fire was the fourth time he had seen the building burn.
Perdue said he and his two sons were walking to an entertainment fair at George Boner Elementary School when they saw the fire around 12:30 p.m. “There were 10-foot flames on top” and about 15 fire engines on the scene, he said. .
Bob Parent, a volunteer with the Mill and Area Bay Conservation Society, said he was worried about the fire, which polluted Shonigan Creek.
“It simply came to our notice then [coho] the smolts are starting to come down … which we put there, ”said Parent. “All of this could have been avoided if it had been demolished earlier.”
Laura Naherniak, who lives on Lake Schonigan, agreed, saying the building “should have been demolished years ago.”
“I’d say it was like a drone, more than a drone.”
The fire could have been much worse, she said, if it had happened when the weather was hotter.
Tony Sullivan, who has been with his son in Mill Bay for several months since his own home burned down, went out to see what was happening. He called the building an “eye ulcer.”
“Whoever owns it, they were in the process of dismantling. It was an event like what was waiting to happen, old tar paper and old wood stacked in one place, “he said.
Pioneer Square is part of a plot called Stonebridge Property in Mill Bay, collected over three generations by the Garnett family.
The property was acquired by the Victoria-based Limona Group, a development company.
Lemona has plans for a large community, planned from the master plan in part of the lands of Stonebridge, and intends to rebuild 6.25 acres, on which is located Pioneer Square.
Mike Bayer, director of Limona, said the company has not yet been able to move forward with plans for the site, although they have been under development for years.
He said a permit was issued in the spring to demolish the restaurant building south of the site behind Pioneer Square. This restaurant has since been demolished and Limona is in the midst of “nasty” environmental cleanup, he said.
“It simply came to our notice then [Pioneer Square]”Bayer said.
Bayer said Limona had teams working to demolish Pioneer Square, but had to spend up to six figures to guard the site, because every time he locks up the property, someone will break in and make a mess or start a fire.
He said the company had people at the site three to five times a day trying to thwart the breaches.
The 6.25-acre property is valued at $ 1.436 million by BC Assessment.
“With a file from Pedro Arais.”
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