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Posted: Aug. 18, 2024 6:42PMThe sound of crackling fire filled the air around Port Alberni’s Somass Sawmill Sunday morning, asSben Slogar was one of many residents who rushed down to the waterfront site to watch firefighters battle the blaze after spotting smoke from kilometres away.
“I worked there for 34 years,” said Port Alberni resident Lorne Ethier, as he watched the mill fire from his car.“I made a good living there … while I was raising my family,” said Ethier.According to Port Alberni Fire, crews were called to the mill at 8:37 a.m. Sunday, but since it was made of heavy timber and metal, the flames shot through the multi-storey structure like a bonfire.
“It was a defensive fire right from the start out of concern for firefighters safety. We were paying attention to exposures. There was some machinery and a building next to this one that we wanted to protect,” said Deputy Chief of the Port Alberni Fire Department Travis Cross.The mill closed in 2017 and the site has been the scene of several suspicious fires since, but none as large as Sundays.
PORT ALBERNI Port Alberni Fire Somass Mill Fire Suspicious Fire Video
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