Fire at Lavington pellet plant contained to burner room

LAVINGTON – Smoke poured from the Lavington pellet plant this afternoon after a fire broke out in one of the burner rooms.

Close to two dozen firefighters from both the Coldstream and Lavington departments responded to the blaze shortly after 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 29 at the Pinnacle pellet plant.

Coldstream fire chief Dave Sturgeon says there were quite a few people working at the plant at the time, but believes everyone got out safely.

When fire crews arrived, heavy smoke was billowing from the building and the fire was hot, Sturgeon says.

Firefighters wasted no time attacking the blaze, which was contained to a burner room in the drying area of the building, and had it under control by 6 p.m.

“At this point they’re just mopping up and extinguishing hotspots,” Sturgeon says.

The fire isn’t considered suspicious, but Sturgeon says it will probably be a few days before investigators are able to determine a cause.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infonews.ca or call 250-309-5230. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.