Yahoo Finance Concrete manufacturing plant in Surrey destroyed by massive overnight fire
A concrete manufacturing facility in Surrey has been destroyed by a massive overnight fire.
Surrey firefighters responded to the call just before 4 a.m. Saturday, and arrived on the scene at 192 Street and 54th Avenue to find a 20,000 square foot building engulfed in flames. The fire had also spread to several buildings nearby.
Steve Serbic, assistant chief of operations for the Surrey Fire Service, said 36 firefighters and 15 fire trucks responded, and were forced to fight the fire from the outside, because of the explosive nature of the flames.
"The fire consumed the whole building and the crews went into a defensive attack," said Serbic.
Serbic said there were large propane tanks just outside the building, which the crews protected to avoid an explosion.
"The challenging part of this fire was the gas, there were large propane tanks and natural gas that took some time to get shut off so the crews were battling some gas fires," he said.
Serbic said there were no employees on the scene when the fire broke out, and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
"It was a very cold night. There was lots of ice, lots of water, lots of aerials went up and the crews did a really good job," he said.
"There were no injuries, so it was a productive outcome considering what they arrived to."
Crews remained on the scene into Saturday morning, and excavators will go through the collapsed building to ensure hotspots are completely put out.
