No concrete answers on what may have started industrial fire in Kamloops

KAMLOOPS – Fire crews have determined where a large industrial fire started yesterday, but may never know how it was started.

Kamloops Fire Rescue Asst. Chief Dave McMahon says about 18 firefighters were battling the blaze at 681 Athabasca Street on the Kamloops Indian Reserve yesterday, March 12.

He says several 911 calls came in to report the fire, which could be seen across the city, especially from higher elevations.

McMahon says KFR went into a full emergency response and quickly knocked down the fire. He says the industrial building, which the owner leases out to different utility and construction companies, was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived yesterday afternoon.

He says 70 per cent of the structure has been damaged or affected by fire. So far KFR has determined the blaze began in the middle of the building, but McMahon says they may never know what actually sparked it.

"Industry standard is you have to be 100 per cent confident what started a fire," McMahon says. "Everything is in the mixing pot until you’ve eliminated it."

This means the results of this investigation could come back as inconclusive, McMahon says.

The structure was unoccupied at the time of the fire McMahon says, which started at about 4:30 p.m. He says an employee was in the building during the day but no one was in the building when the fire was called in.

There were no injuries as a result.

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