Scott Forbes received a call from his electrician on Wednesday evening, saying he could see a massive fire coming from the property where Forbes operates a business venture.
Forbes tuned in to news reports, which showed giant black plumes of smoke and huge flames shooting through the sky from Precision Custom Remanufacturing, a wood-processing facility in west Abbotsford.
Forbes, who owns Scotty Wood Corporation, went into a panic. For the last two years, he has rented space on that property – located on Matsqui Place, near the Mt. Lehman exit off Highway 1 – for his $1.2 million kiln. The equipment is one of only two of its kind in North America that thermally modifies wood, which increases its durability.
But Forbes’ anxiety soon turned to relief when he realized that his kiln wasn’t damaged in the blaze, which broke out at about 5:45 p.m.
Speaking at the scene on Thursday morning, he said that although it’s disheartening that the fire destroyed Precision Custom’s main building and employees will be temporarily out of work, it’s astounding that more damage wasn’t done.
He and others are crediting the quick and diligent work of Abbotsford firefighters in containing the fire to about half of the property.
FOR VIDEO OF THE FIRE CLICK HERE
Much of the lumber on site wasn’t touched nor was the Petro-Pass gas station on one side and the Fraserway RV dealership on the other.
Fire Chief Don Beer of Abbotsford Fire Rescue Service (AFRS) said crews did a “remarkable job” of containing and dousing the huge blaze.
When firefighters got on scene, they saw two buildings and stacks of lumber on fire, with flames reaching 30 metres high.
“Flames were quite a ways in the air,” Beer said.
The highway was shut down in both directions, as smoke limited visibility and as sparks from the blaze were carried by the wind and jumped the freeway to the dry grassy median, causing a separate fire.
Beer said it was a “grueling” battle, with crews contending not only with a stubborn blaze ripping through dry wood but also with 30 degree C temperatures.
Every fire hall in Abbotsford, except one, was dispatched to the fire.
In all, 19 AFRS units and roughly 85 firefighters attended, along with Abbotsford Police, BC Hydro, Fortis, B.C. Ambulance and City of Abbotsford engineers.
Engines from Mission and Chilliwack came to Abbotsford to cover the rest of the city during the blaze. Heavy equipment was also brought in to help extinguish the remainder of the fire overnight.
Approximately 20 employees are out of work for the time being as a result of the blaze.
Fire investigators are expected to be on scene for several days to determine the cause of the fire, which remains unknown.
No one was injured in the incident.
– with files from Kelvin Gawley
