Several North Delta business were gutted when a blaze broke out in a commercial building on Saturday afternoon.
Emergency crews were called to the 11900-block of 93A Ave. just west of Scott Road at around 3 p.m. on Nov. 12 after reports of a fire in a warehouse.
“The fire had a good hold by the time that our first crews arrived on the scene,” said Delta Fire Chief Dan Copeland. “They started with an offensive attack and quickly had to turn to defensive. When we go defensive it’s mainly containing it to the building of origin and protecting any exposures around it.”
Copeland said conditions at the scene made it difficult for firefighters to reach parts of the fire.
“There was a roof collapse fairly early on in the incident and that makes things even more difficult because fires become hidden and buried and it’s a challenge to get complete extinguishment,” he said. “We were also challenged that day by heavy winds that were blowing to the east and, with the roof collapse early on, the wind helped fan the fire.”
Traffic along Scott Road was shut down for several hours as Delta Fire and Emergency Services worked to extinguish the flames.
At its height, seven trucks were dispatched to help fight the two-alarm fire. Additional personnel were called in to help out both on scene and to the fire halls and Surrey Fire Service was on standby to cover any other calls in the area.
Delta Fire remained on the scene throughout the night putting out hot spots and didn’t pull out completely until about 5 p.m. on Sunday.
No one was hurt in the fire and officials do not consider the fire to be suspicious. The fire is believed to have started in the rear of the building, although the exact cause is still under investigation.
Aroma Euro Deli, D&R Skylight Installation and Bright Clean Maids, as well as processing facilities for Butcher Boy Deli in Burnaby and Altmaerker German Sausage House & Deli in North Delta, were destroyed.