Coombs/Hilliers volunteer fire department, along with seven other neighbouring departments, fought an early morning fire in Coombs on Sunday that completely destroyed the Sanctuary of the Rastafarian Order.
“Firefighters from multiple fire departments worked tirelessly throughout the night to extinguish the flames and protect nearby structures. No other structures were damaged,” said a news release posted on the fire department’s Facebook page.
There were no injuries and the department said residents in the attached structure evacuated safely. It received the call near 2 a.m and said the initial page out included response from surrounding departments. Upon arrival it requested additional resources from other communities.
During the incident, the department said it used an estimated 50,000 gallons (189,270 litres) of water. “Our protection area lacks hydrants, making us reliant on water shuttle from local departments, as well as our own water tenders,” it said.
“We would like to thank our mutual aid departments, and other departments that assisted us during this incident. Also our thanks to BC EHS, Mid-island Mainroad contracting and BC Hydro,” the Coombs/Hilliers department said.
