Fire crews were called to the Millstream Beverage Company Thursday night, and the company says its building was undamaged.
Langford Fire Chief Chris Aubrey says the fire was on the outdoor patio, and he credits people calling 911 so quickly as the reason it did not spread to the main building.
“I certainly want to credit the people that call them 911 as quick as they did, because we got to just before it started to get into the main building,” Aubrey said in a phone interview with CHEK News. “So you know, had it been any longer or had it been 2 or 3 in the morning, I think it would have been a much bigger fire. So good job on the public for being alert and giving us the 911 call as soon as they did.”
Aubrey says the first call came in at 10:22 p.m. and 15 firefighters from Langford, Colwood and View Royal responded.
He says everyone had left the building about an hour before then, so crews had to force entry into the main building to ensure it hadn’t spread.
Ian Conn, CEO of the Millstream Beverage Company says the pub will still be able to open Friday.
“Just the pergola that we have set up, just the roof, about one quarter of the roof is gone,” Conn said. “It’s quite a shame, but it’s not going to affect our ability to open today.”
He says the clean up from the fire should be done before the doors open for the public.
“Thanks to excellent work by the local fire departments to keep it contained and knock it down so quickly,” Conn said.
In a Facebook post, the company says it was closed at the time and everyone is safe following the fire.
Aubrey says a cause has not been determined at this point, but an investigator is on scene today looking into the possibility that it was sparked by a space heater on the patio.
If people are using space heaters as the weather cools down, Aubrey says it is important to be sure they are not placed near combustible materials and to make sure they are working properly.
Laura Brougham
