The RockPro industrial building in Port Hardy went up in flames on Saturday, April 18.
According to a news release from Port Hardy Fire Rescue (PHFR), “The situation began at 0946am... Port Hardy Fire received a page with report of smoke showing from the RockPro building along Hardy Bay Road, after multiple calls to 911.”
Fire Chief Brent Borg arrived first on scene and saw “heavy smoke from the eaves and upper portion of the structure and began to direct crews accordingly, given some difficult challenges with the scene including a lack of nearby and immediately-accessible fire hydrants,” noted the release. “Ladder 17, the first responding apparatus, arrived on scene shortly after with crews and began a rapid initial interior attack to try and locate the seat of the fire and gain a hold to stop any further spread.”
After that, Engine 10 arrived and began the process of “establishing a water supply for firefighting attack, with the nearest hydrant 1500ft away... A crew from
Port McNeill Fire Rescue was also paged and dispatched for additional personnel. Within an hour from page-out over 35 personnel were on scene.”
After a 12 hour fight against the flames, “a significant portion of the North Island Rockpro shop burned to the ground, a building that has been a landmark in the community since the mid-1900s, with origins as the MacMillan Bloedel shop in Port Hardy,” the release stated. “However, the most important fact is that there were only three minor firefighting injuries, a large portion of the shop bays and equipment were saved, and the Milligan family, their employees, and all other tenants at the site (including the Crash Palace Cowboys) are safe.”
See PHFR’s Facebook page to read the full release on the incident.
