Other Business, Recycling / Waste Facility

Campbell River, BC, Canada – Firefighters connect to sprinkler system to help control fire at recycling center

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Wednesday’s fire in a Maple Street building containing cardboard recycling appears to have been deliberately set.

“When crews arrived on the scene, they found a pile of cardboard and paper that measured approximately eight metres wide by three metres tall fully engulfed in flames. The fire was contained inside the metal clad building, and crews decided the most effective method to douse the fire was to use the waterway at the tip of the ladder fire truck,” said deputy fire chief Vrabel says.

Firefighters were called out about 6:25 p.m. After a few mintures, they changed from dousing the fire with handheld hoses to a nozzle attached to the hose at the end of the ladder on the aerial ladder truck. The nozzle was then directed into the interior of the building and brought the fire under control.

“We initiated a defensive attack. We were concerned about the structural stability of the metal beams that were supporting the roof so we weren’t committing any members inside,” Vrabel said. “Police did have some persons of interest in their custody while we were carrying out our fire operations.”

Vrabel said that three youth “of interest” had been located by the RCMP.

“It definitely appears to be intentionally set by one or more persons,” Vrabel said.

The building is privately owned and is leased out to Sun Coast Waste Management.

On scene were 21 firefighters with four pieces of apparatus committed to the incident. The fire department left the scene after 9:30 p.m.

The fire was still smouldering as of this afternoon but firefighters managed to connect to a sprinkler system in the building and that was directed onto the pile to control it.

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