Firefighters from two fire halls in North Cowichan took more than three hours to put out a structure fire in the 3100 block of Richards Trail on Aug. 11, according to North Cowichan fire chief Marin Drakeley.
He said 26 firefighters and five trucks from the Maple Bay and South End fire halls responded to calls of a fire that would completely destroy either a shed or a barn on the property at approximately 7 p.m. Friday evening.
Two people who were in a home on the property saw the flames coming from the structure and called 911, but others called emergency services as well as many onlookers on Maple Bay watched the smoke billow from across Quamichan Lake.
“I was pretty worried when I saw the smoke pop up,” said Maple Bay resident Paul Considine, who took photos of the smoke from across the lake. He recalled a fire last year closer to his home in The Properties that also bust into flames as well.
“[That one was] a little closer to home and a bit more concerning,” he noted.
Fire crews managed to knock down the Richards Trail fire swiftly.
“It was fully involved when the fire crews got there,” Drakeley said.
“Nobody was injured in the fire and no one was in the structure at the time. As far as we know at this time, the structure was empty so we don’t know how it got started. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.”
robert.barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.com
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