Update: The fire was fully extinguished by 3:05 a.m. July 24. See full update here.
New Westminster fire crews are battling a fire in the Braid industrial area that broke out early Sunday evening.
Assistant deputy Chief Brad Davie said the department’s entire complement of on-duty firefighters is at the fire at the Urban Impact facility on Capilano Way.
“It is being contained. It is not out,” he told the Record around 8 p.m. “But we have managed to protect the rest of the structure.”
When fire crews arrived at the fire, black smoke could be seen billowing into the sky.
“It’s a recycling plant. There’s a lot of paper and plastic,” Davie said. “The fire was most heavily burning when they got here, inside as well.”
Davie said additional firefighters have been called in to work and are providing coverage for the rest of the city. Sixteen firefighters are fighting the fire at the industrial site.
‘We called in eight more people to protect the rest of the city when this happened,” said Davie, who was also called in to the scene. “These crews will need to be properly decontaminated before they go back to service.”
After battling structure fires, firefighters need to be properly decontaminated to reduce the risk of cancer and other diseases, Davie explained.
According to Davie, the facility was closed when the fire started. He had yet to speak to a security guard who may have been patrolling the area.
The investigation into the cause of the fire is unknown.
Firefighters, decked out in heavy turnout gar and breathing apparatus, were visibly hot, when taking breaks from shifts pouring water onto the fire from hoses. The July 23 fire occurred at a time when some thermostats were showing the temperature in New West to be 25C.
“Wearing the gear, it is hot. We will cycle them all through rehabilitation,” Davie said. “They have to be rehabilitated, once we get BC Ambulance Service on scene, before we send them back in. They are just not here yet.”
Part of that process will include checking their vital signs.
