Chilliwack Fire Department Responds to Two Structure Fires

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 7, 2020

Fire Crews Kept Busy with Back to Back Structure Fires

At 11:45am on August 7, 2020, firefighters from Chilliwack firehalls 1, 4, 5 & 6 responded to a structure fire in the 45000 block of Rowat Avenue. When firefighters arrived, they found a boarded up vacant, single storey residential house with heavy fire on the exterior rear deck of the home. Firefighters quickly confined the fire to the exterior and extinguished with minor fire damage to the roof structure.

The house was scheduled for demolition.

There were no firefighter or civilian injuries.

This fire was deliberately set and is under investigation by Chilliwack Fire Department and RCMP fire investigators. If anyone has any information about this fire, they are asked to call the RCMP at 604-792-4611 or anonymously through Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or The Upper Fraser valley Crime Stoppers – http://www.upperfraservalleycrimestoppers.ca/

While fire crews were working the structure fire on Rowat Avenue, Chilliwack Fire Department was dispatched to a second structure fire located in the 49000 block of Castleman Road. The structure fire call came in at approximately 12:30 pm.

Fire fighters responded from Halls 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. On arrival, fire crews witnessed heavy smoke and flame from a large poultry barn. The barn sustained heavy fire damage and was destroyed in the fire. An excavator was brought in to help with firefighting operations. Fire crews did a great job protecting adjacent buildings on site.

The farm is a free-range poultry operation. The majority of the chickens were outside the barn at the time of the fire and were later collected and move to a neighbouring barn. Unfortunately, a few of the chicken’s that were in the barn perished in the fire.

There were no civilian or firefighter injuries.

The fire is under investigation by Chilliwack Fire Department and appears to be accidental.

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