Thursday October 8, 2020 | LANGFORD, BC [Updated October 9, 2020 at 1:45 pm]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
A strata condo building located at 844 Goldstream Avenue (owned by Evo West) across from the Tim Horton’s restaurant was on fire after the noon hour today October 8. At about 1:20 pm both Langford Fire Rescue and West Shore RMCP responded to a call about a major structural fire.
There has been thick black smoke in the area for a short while. Emergency crews with equipment from three fire departments — Langford, Colwood and View Royal — arrived help put out the fire and manage the surrounding scene. Also attending was Esquimalt Fire Chief Chris Jancowski to help with incident command, said Langford Assistant Fire Chief Lance Caven on site.
Fire Departments in the west shore region operate with a mutual aid agreement, which on days like this shows how important it is to bring out enough help for an incident. Most firefighters are volunteers, so mid-day sometimes they are at their day jobs and not available to be on-scene for incidents.
About 30 firefighters were on scene for today’s mid-afternoon incident, said Assistant Chief Caven while keeping onlookers back behind yellow safety tape.
The fire appears to have started on the balcony on the outer corner unit on the top (fourth) floor … probably the least invasive spot in the building, if you had to choose one. The balcony was pretty much close (as evident from street view) but the unit inside was not all that effected by fire, said Caven.
However, several streets now have water damage. Smoke damage will be minimal, said Caven, as the fire was mostly outside the building and was extinguished quickly enough.
All residents were safely out:
All residents and pets were safely evacuated, says the City of Langford. The building has 48 strata units in total and is home to about 100 residents.
Ground floor business residents of the building may contact Firm Property Management with their inquiries.
Power outages:
There were some mid-afternoon power outages as a result of the fire. The 800-block of Goldstream saw power out from 1:23 pm to 4:30 pm, affecting 2,715 customers. Also 58 customers affected east of Jacklin Road, West of Peatt Rd, south of Goldstream Avenue and North of Orono Ave from 2:31 pm to 3:50 pm according to BC Hydro; there were also some outages in Westhills.
Commercial/residential building:
As fires go it was a small patch of flame contained to one small area. But given the location in the Langford core commercial/residential area and of course all the people, businesses and landscaping in the area, it became a high-attention incident.
The 844 Goldstream Avenue building is right across from a popular Tim Hortons restaurant and across and down just a bit from Langford City Hall. One of the businesses on the ground floor of the 844 Goldstream building is Curious Comics.
Traffic impacts:
All lanes on Goldstream Avenue between Jacklin Road and Peatt Road were closed from 1 pm to about 4 pm. A traffic advisory was sent out by City of Langford Engineer Michelle Mahovlich around 1:20 pm and West Shore RCMP around 2 pm.
Lots of observers:
Residents and motorists were diverted along Jacklin and Peatt but residents ambled by on the sidewalk and about 40 people gathered on the sidewalk right across from the burnt and soaked building in the busy commercial area.
Cause unknown:
The fire is not believed to be suspicious at this time, says West Shore RCMP Media Relations Officer Cst Nancy Saggar, but the cause does remain unknown. Langford Fire Rescue will be investigating.
EOC/ESS services:
Effected and evacuated residents can attend Langford Legion at 761 Station Avenue as an emergency operations centre (EOC) to connect and access emergency city services.
Emergency Social Services (ESS) can provide information to the residents about accommodation or other immediate needs. On Thursday evening, Firm Property Management is to give a statement to residents, at the Legion.
If necessary, residents are currently allowed to return to the building to collect essential belongings, it was stated in a release from the City of Langford. They will not be allowed to remain in the building overnight, ESS can provide alternative accommodation and gift cards for food and other necessities. If residents require transportation to the Legion they should submit their receipt to ESS for reimbursement.
