Oceanside RCMP confirmed it is teaming with the Parksville Volunteer Fire Department to investigate two fires that broke out at separate Parksville bakeries within a day of one another, including a blaze that destroyed the French Creek Bakery and Cafe, 894 Island Hwy. W., Friday afternoon, April 28.
That fire followed a fire late Thursday afternoon at the nearby Sandcastle Bakery, 897 Island Highway W., which was quickly extinquished by firefighters after causing “only moderate damage,” RCMP reported in a written news release.
“The Oceanside RCMP and Parksville Volunteer Fire Department continue to investigate both blazes in an effort to determine causal factors,” police reported.
Investigators were still at the site Monday afternoon.
Friday’s fire was reported a few minutes before 1 p.m. Parksville Volunteer Fire Department fire chief Marc Norris said the eruption of a pair of 68-kilogram propane cylinders at the rear of French Creek Bakery served to accelerate the fire, which quickly engulfed the building.
The business was open at the time but everyone was able to make it out without injury, police reported.
Paul Romhany was driving past the bakery with his wife when the fire started, and pulled over to record video of the blaze, capturing the explosions of the two propane tanks.
At about the same time, a man and a woman having lunch at Sam’s Sushi Bar, adjacent to the bakery, said they were told to evacuate along with the restaurant’s employees, as there was a fire going on next door.
“Smoke was coming from the back of the building,” said the man. Neither the man nor the woman wanted to be named.“It went super fast,” said the woman. “It started in the back… then up on the roof and then across the roof.”
At one point, the pair said they heard a loud whooshing noise, and the flames grew to be as high as the pine trees across the street.
They were likely coming from the propane cylinders at the rear of the bakery, which firefighters found jetting flame when they arrived to find the bakery fully involved, said Norris.
“The tanks were venting pressure, which causes a large flame,” said Norris.
Four employees had been working the bakery, he said. One was taken to hospital, possibly with smoke inhalation symptoms. No others were hurt, said paramedics.
Highway 19A was blocked in both directions for several blocks as firefighters brought the fire under control.
The fire was out sometime after 2 p.m. Charred wood and part of the bakery sign lay among the blackened skeleton of the building.
The sushi restaurant suffered some cosmetic damage due to the fire.
Norris said a commercial fire like this is uncommon, with Parksville seeing one or two of them a year, on average. Yet the blaze broke out even as fire investigators were looking into the fire that struck the nearby Sandcastle Bakery the previous afternoon.
“Two bakeries in two days is odd,” Norris said. “That’ll be part of our investigation to see if there is any connection. We haven’t ruled anything out at this time and we will be asking our friends with the RCMP to assist,” Norris said.
The investigation for fire causes, Norris said, could take one to three days depending on what is found.
— With files from Lauren Collins and J.R. Rardon