Fire crews remain on scene Wednesday morning after a fire all but destroyed an Errington equipment and trailer rental place on Tuesday, March 14. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

investigation continues

Errington equipment rental building ‘a write-off’ following evening fire

Mar 15, 2023 | 1:13 PM

PARKSVILLE — The owner of a business suffered minor injuries after their shop caught fire Tuesday evening.

Kitt Equipment Trailer Sales at 1093 Smithers Rd. caught fire around 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 15, and took over 30 firefighters from different departments to extinguish it. They remained on scene for roughly six hours dealing with hot spots and securing the site.

George Klemm, deputy fire chief of the Errington Volunteer Fire Department, said the building was fully engulfed in flames when they arrived.

“Consistent water is always an issue there and we did a pretty good job of getting constant water on it, but being the fire load is fairly heavy in industrial buildings it takes a while to put things out.”

Klemm said the owner suffered minor injuries to their hand, suffered minor smoke inhalation and was taken to hospital as a precaution.

niche amenities

Trio of community park projects advancing in Nanaimo

2h ago

final farewell

Family, friends and fans to gather at memorial for former B.C. premier John Horgan

3h ago

holiday vibes

Grizzlies spoil Clippers' teddy bear toss night

10h ago

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

He said while some of the equipment outside of the building is still salvageable, the building itself is likely not.

“We did cover all the exposures so there’s a lot of the outside stuff that salvageable, little bit of the stuff inside, but the building itself is a write-off.”

Mutual aid from surrounding departments in Coombs and Parksville also responded, as well as the Qualicum Beach Fire Department who sent a water tender truck.

“Thank the mutual aid partners. It’s really important, all of them, and the families of the firefighters. Some of the stuff they go through in trying to get there and dealing with the family life, work and everything else.”

The property on Smithers Rd. sustained significant damage after fire broke out in the early evening hours of Tuesday, March 14. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Join the conversation. Submit your letter to NanaimoNewsNOW and be included on The Water Cooler, our letters to the editor feature.

info@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @NanaimoNewsNOW