A fire tore through the Abbotsford Bottle Depot on Walsh Avenue early on Thursday morning, and the facility is now temporarily closed as a result.
Twitter user @theggie94 shared photos and video from the scene, stating that the blaze began at around 4 a.m. on Thursday morning. He noted that the blaze was contained quickly, but not without damage to the building.
@GlobalBC @CBCVancouver @AbbyNews Around 4am this morning the Abbotsford Bottle Depot was ignited on fire. Police arrived right away while fire took approx 10min to arrive. Fire was out in about 5min after they arrived pic.twitter.com/AkePlFnwt1
— Tyson Heggie (@theggie94) May 20, 2021
— Tyson Heggie (@theggie94) May 20, 2021
The Abbotsford Police Department added more details on the incident this afternoon, stating that an officer heard an explosion near the 33200 block of Walsh Street, and found both a dumpster on fire and a fire at a nearby recycling depot.
Abbotsford Fire Rescue Services then arrived to extinguish the fires. All the local businesses were closed at the time of the fires and no one was injured.
Abbotsford Police General Investigation Section and Abbotsford Fire Rescue investigators remain on scene. These fires are considered suspicious, and investigators are unsure as to the motive(s). No suspect description is available at this time.
Witnesses to these incidents or anyone with CCTV or dashcam footage is asked to contact the Abbotsford Police Department at 604-859-5225.
The Abbotsford Bottle Depot confirmed on social media that they will be closed for the foreseeable future due to the fire damage. They encouraged customers to not drop off any recyclables or Encorp Express bags outside of their building while they are closed. Management will update the public on its re-opening when they can.
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