Firefighters took almost an hour to douse a fire that broke out at a detached workshop located on Swayne Road in Coombs on Tuesday afternoon.
The fire, which happened at approximately 4 p.m., was brought under control through a collaborative effort that involved the Coombs-Hilliers Volunteer Fire Department, the Errington Volunteer Fire Department, the Dashwood Volunteer Fire Department, Parksville Fire Department and Qualicum Beach Fire Department.
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Errington Fire Chief Troy Bater said their crew was the first on the scene.
“The fire spread to the trees and we knocked that out pretty quick as that was our main concern,” said Bater. “The whole shop was gutted and it took a bit of time to contain the fire but we made sure it didn’t spread anymore.”
Bater said no one was injured and that everyone in the residence was safe. But the shop was a writeoff.
“We don’t know what caused the fire,” said Bater. “We will be conducting an investigation.”
Bater said because of the automatic aid protocol in place, all the departments in the nearby area came out to render assistance.
