Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill Smithers, BC, Canada – Arson fire at sawmill controlled by sprinkler system April 7, 2016 viking210 A 49-year-old man is reportedly in police custody, in connection with two fires at the Pacific Inland Resources sawmill in Smithers. RCMP and the Smithers Fire Department were called to the mill shortly after 10pm last night. Fire chief Keith Stecko says mill employees activated fire supression systems quickly. “PIR has a sprinkler system in its building so the system quickly detected the fire and was able to control it; when we arrived we put out some spot fires, but the sprinklers largely did the work,” he said. Stecko says it appears some sort of accelerant was used — and there was considerable damage. “We’re estimating between $50,000 to perhaps $100,000; we are currently investigating what was used to start the fire, so we’re not sure at this point what it was,” he said.
