Salt Spring Island Fire Rescue (SSIFR) responded to a report of alarm bells in the area of 167 Rainbow Road at 02:35 on June 1.
Upon arrival the crews found smoke coming from Windsor Plywood at 166 Rainbow Road and additional resources were paged out for a commercial structure fire. Twenty-six firefighters and eight apparatus were used in extinguishment of the fire over a 15-hour period, flowing in excess of 100,000 gallons of water.
There were no firefighter or civilian injuries to report, and we are happy to say Cedar, the Windsor Plywood cat, was spotted Tuesday morning, spooked but safe.
SSIFR would like to thank the RCMP, BCAS, BC Hydro, Emcon and North Salt Spring Waterworks for their efforts in assist us with this challenging incident. We would also like to thank Embe Bakery, Thrifty Foods and Country Grocery for keeping our members fueled and hydrated throughout the day.
And finally, a special shout out the Windsor Plywood forklift operators Jim, Jamie and Adam for some excellent driving and assisting the crews with overhaul and moving lumber around.
Rainbow Road remains closed between the high school and elementary school and security is in place overnight. Crews will return in the morning to continue overhaul and start our investigation. Thank you for keeping the area clear for us to do our work.