‘Stubborn’ Coquitlam fire sends smoke billowing into the air

COQUITLAM (NEWS 1130) – A fire in Coquitlam sent smoke billowing through the region, all the way from the Tri-Cities to downtown Vancouver, Thursday morning.

Crews were called to a warehouse on Schoolhouse Street north of Lougheed Highway just after midnight.

“We received a call of smoke and flame from a warehouse here,” Assistant Fire Chief Gary Mulligan told NEWS 1130. “We have a single story warehouse, it’s got a couple of bays, some equipment inside, and we had heavy black smoke puffing around the eaves of the roof structure.”

He added firefighters cut their way in through the steel doors to fight the flames in the roof.

“It became apparent that it became too unsafe, it was the length of time underneath that roof was too long and we had to pull our crews back and go into defensive mode,” he said.

Mulligan explained the fire had the entire roof structure “involved”, adding the materials on the roof appear to be made of metal, tar, and gravel.

He said the conditions sparked concerns of collapse, and crews were pulled out for their safety.

“Once that flame… and heat gets in that metal trust, the collapse is inevitable.”

It appears the equipment inside belongs to a private power company, he said, including machinery like forklifts and bucket trucks.

It was reported to firefighters that employees left the building at about 6 p.m. Wednesday.

“Safety is a concern for my firefighters, we’re not entering the building. It’s a stubborn fire in the roof now, so it’s just going to be a real patient progress,” Mulligan said.

‘Pretty devastating’: Employees met by fire crews Thursday morning

Jordan Allen, who is a subcontractor for Focus Communications, said the fire was brought to his attention via email before arriving at the building Thursday morning.

“We were coming to the yard to pick up some pipe to go do a job in Surrey,” he told NEWS 1130.

“It’s a warehouse, it’s got rolls of fiber optic cable and supplies that we pick up down in the garage bay area and then upstairs is all the offices, computers, desks, and folks working,” he described.

Line Koronko’s office is on the top floor of the building, She’s worked there for a couple years now.

“It’s pretty devastating,” she said. “We’re a pretty busy company and really a good group of people there. I’m sure the owners will do everything they can to accommodate everybody.”

Living nearby, Koronko said she jumped in her car and drove down to the warehouse as soon as she found out about the blaze.

“My husband called me yelling and screaming that my building was on fire,” she explained, adding crews were unable to say for sure what the extent of the damage to the building is.

On what she may have lost in the fire, Koronko listed off a number of items, but added she will be staying optimistic.

“Hopefully everything will fall into place. I’m pretty sad.”