The part of the building closest to the highway was still standing on Friday afternoon, but other parts had given way. Spectators clapped as the teams tore down what was left of the building.
Much of Million’s Pioneer Square Mall collapsed Friday in the third fire in the empty building in six months.
The part of the building closest to the highway was still standing on Friday afternoon, but other parts had given way. Spectators clapped as the teams tore down what was left of the building.
It looked like the fire had been largely extinguished by 4 p.m.
Reached by phone at the scene of the fire Friday afternoon, Mill Bay fire chief Ron Beck said the building was “completely lost,” before adding, “It’s sinking, I have to ‘go away’.
Heavy smoke billowed down the freeway, which closed in both directions on Shawnigan-Mill Bay Road.
Traffic was diverted along Cobble Hill Road and Shawnigan Lake Road, according to Emcon, which maintains the roads. Large vehicles were directed to take West Shawnigan Lake Road.
Malahat Fire Rescue and Cowichan Bay Fire Rescue firefighters were also at the scene.
A fire truck could be seen firing water into the building from above.
The Mill Bay Fire Department responded to fires similar to the 12,000-square-foot structure, built in 1972, in February and November.
Mill Bay resident Craig Perdue said Friday’s fire was the fourth time he had seen the building on fire.
Perdue said he and his two children were walking toward an George Bonner Elementary School amusement fair when they saw the fire around 12:30 p.m. “There were 10-foot flames on top.” and about 15 fire trucks at the scene, he said. .
Bob Parent, a volunteer with the Mill Bay and District Conservation Society, said he was concerned about the runoff from the fire polluting Shawnigan Creek.
“This is where [coho] The smolts are starting to come down … which we put up there, “Parent said.” All of this could have been avoided if it had been demolished earlier. “
Lora Naherniak, who lives on Shawnigan Lake, agreed, saying the building “should have been demolished years ago”.
“I’d say it was like bait, rather than bait.”
The fire could have been much worse, he said, if it had happened when it was hotter.
Tony Sullivan, who has been staying with his son in Mill Bay for a few months since his own house burned down, went out to see what was going on. He described the building as a “hill in sight”.
“Whoever the owner was, they were in the process of dismantling it. It was an event like this waiting to happen, old tar paper and old wood stacked in one place,” he said.
Pioneer Square is part of a plot of land called Stonebridge Property in Mill Bay, brought together for three generations by the Garnett family.
The property was acquired by Limona Group, a Victoria-based development company.
Limona has plans for a large planned community on part of the Stonebridge land and intends to redevelop the 6.25 acres where Pioneer Square is located.
Mike Baier, director of Limona, said the company has not yet been able to advance its plans for the site, although they have been under construction for years.
He said a demolition permit was issued for the restaurant building south of the site behind Pioneer Square in the spring. Since then, this restaurant has been razed and Limona is in the middle of a “nasty” environmental cleanup, he said.
“It simply came to our notice then [Pioneer Square]”Baier said.
Baier said Limona has had equipment working to demolish Pioneer Square, but has had to spend up to six figures on site security, as every time he walled up the property, someone would come in and make a mess or set fire.
He said the company has had people in place three to five times a day trying to thwart the thefts.
The 6.25-acre property is valued at $ 1.436 million by BC Assessment.
– With a file by Pedro Arrais