Fire burns down fishing lodge workshop

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A woodworking shop near Copper River burned to the ground last weekend but firefighters were able to keep it from spreading.

On Saturday January 12, the Thornhill Fire Department was called to a fire around 2 p.m. at the Skeena River Fishing Lodge on Lavergne Rd. to find flames and smoke coming form a small workshop.

There were no injuries, said Thornhill fire chief Wes Patterson, adding that 12 firefighters and three trucks arrived on scene to fight the fire.

“I believe it was a wood stove,” said Patterson about what he thinks started the fire. “A resident indicated he was out in the workshop earlier, came out, and noticed a different colour of smoke.”

From there, emergency services were called.

“We contained it within that building,” said Patterson of firefighting efforts, noting there was minimal damage to a large garage nearby and another storage shed that was beside it. “The building itself is a write off.”

Damage to the structure, which was about 15 x 10 feet in size, is estimated in the $30,000 range, said Patterson.

“Flames were visible from the windows of the building but by the time the first engine arrived on scene [the fire] had broken the glass,” said Patterson, who was first to arrive on the scene.

The glass broke because the fire inside heated up the window panes but the cold temperature outside created a thermal shock, he explained.

RCMP were on scene as well.

“Police were called to assist the Thornhill Fire Department,” said Terrace's RCMP spokesperson Angela Rabut. “Thornhill Fire Department were able to get the fire under control quickly.”