A fire at a residential construction site on Bear Mountain in Langford was likely started by roofing equipment, firefighters say.
On Saturday afternoon, multiple firefighters from Langford, Colwood and View Royal fire departments spent hours battling a blaze that broke out at a fourplex of townhomes in a neighbourhood called Gardner Creek, near Millstream Road.
Multiple told CHEK News Saturday there were construction crews working on the roof of the townhomes when the fire began.
“They have been roofing off and on for the last few days and black smoke just started coming up and then poof, it was just pretty quick,” said one woman.
One said the townhomes were due to be completed soon, with residents slated to move in two months from now, while another recalled seeing fireballs coming from the roof.
“I was playing with my kids in the living room and basically looked up and there were fireballs about 10 feet up off the roof and the whole roof was engulfed,” a neighbour told CHEK News on scene.
The blaze caused West Shore RCMP to vehicle access on Echo Valley Drive, which is located within the Gardner Creek subdivision, until 8 p.m.
Firefighters were eventually able to put out the blaze from inside the fourplex and neighbouring rooftops, however, Langford Fire Department told CHEK News that the flames managed to make their way into the roof structure, making it dangerous for crews to enter as the roof began to fail.
The cause is under investigation but the Langford Fire Department says it appears that roofing equipment likely started the fire.
With files from Nicholas Pescod
Video footage showing the size of the fire in #Langford.
Details: https://t.co/jN0uABboz9
(Credit: Gregg Sidwell) pic.twitter.com/5KOFo73OAf
— Nicholas M Pescod (@npescod) July 17, 2021
ROAD CLOSURES West Shore front line officer are on scene assisting Langford Fire at a structure fire on Echo Valley Rd. Bear mountain is closed between Echo Valley and Golden Eye. Road also closed at Arngask and Echo Valley. Thank you for your patience. Updates to follow
— West Shore RCMP (@WestshoreRCMP) July 17, 2021
Hannah Lepine
