Burnaby fire crews keep blaze from jumping to nearby oil refinery
Posted April 11, 2016 8:09 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
BURNABY (NEWS 1130) – Fire crews had to take a defensive position to keep a blaze from jumping to a nearby oil refinery in North Burnaby early this morning.
Assistant Fire Chief David Graystone tells us the fire at an old driving range north of Hastings Street near Kensington Avenue may have been deliberately started.
“What happened was it was a homeless person that heard some people in the building or around that building — he then saw some flames. He came out… he talked to a bus driver, who phoned us,” says Graystone.
He adds protecting the Shell tank farm was their first priority when they arrived around 3:30 a.m.
“We made sure that the fire could not extend anywhere toward the oil refinery. There’s also a cell tower right on the north side,” he adds.
At one point, witnesses saw flames shooting more than 10 metres into the air.
