A fire broke out at Pacific Inland Resources in Smithers Tuesday night.
Firefighters responded to a phone call around 6:45 PM and fought the small blaze for just under three hours.
The fire burned between the ceiling and the roof above the planer mill and was contained to the rafters. Management says the most damages were smoke-related and expects the roof replacement to cost between $10,000 – $15,000. There were no mechanical or electrical damages to the building or equipment.
The planer equipment was shut down between 7 PM and midnight, however, it was running well at 11 PM and was in full production for today’s 7 AM start.
General Manager Dean MacDonald says firefighters were called when workers could no longer contain the flames.
“An emergency evacuation procedures was put into place,” he says, “we have a horn system here, so the evacuation of the employees was done right away and 9-1-1 was called.”
There were no serious injuries. One employee did go to the hospital with smoke inhalation concerns but returned to work later that night.
MacDonald says he has no idea what caused the fire. The cause is still under investigation.