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Harrison Avenue building in Parksville evacuated after lower-level fire

Blaze caused significant damage to structure and business inventory
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Island Cleaning Supplies, located at 182 Harrison Ave. in Parksville, sustained significant building and storage damage following an early morning fire on Feb. 8, 2022. (Mandy Moraes photo)

An early morning fire on Tuesday, Feb. 8 caused significant inventory loss to a Parksville business and forced the residents above to evacuate.

Fire Chief Marc Norris with the Parksville Fire Department confirmed crews were dispatched at 6:27 a.m. to the Island Cleaning Supplies storefront on Harrison Avenue.

“There was a significant amount of cleaning supplies and inventory in the area where the fire was that required firefighters to go through it,” he said, adding while the fire itself was extinguished in only a few minutes, crews were on scene for several hours overhauling the inventory to ensure that nothing was smouldering.

According to Norris, the fire was contained to a single storage area, approximately 30 feet by 15 feet (9.1 metres by 4.6 metres) in the back of the building, causing smoke and heat damage. As the incident is still under investigation, he was unable to comment on the cause at this time. He did confirm there is no risk to the public or other area businesses regarding the fire.

Six people from two residential spaces above the commercial unit were safely evacuated from the building. Smoke damage from the lower lever did rise to the third floor.

READ MORE: Parksville hotel evacuated after third-floor fire

No injuries were reported during the incident.

Both Errington and Qualicum Beach fire department had trucks and members on site to provide assistance to Parksville firefighters.

Part-owner and general manager for Island Cleaning Supplies, Todd Burnham, said he learned of the incident through their alarm monitoring service the morning of Feb. 8.

“What didn’t get damaged by the fire got damaged by heavy smoke and some water damage,” he said.

As of Monday, Feb. 14, Island Cleaning Supplies is open again to retail customers, including their Purolator (courier) service, and they plan to offer free local delivery for cleaning supplies to Parksville Qualicum Beach area customers.

“We’re hoping to have as little disruption to our customers and the community… If anybody needs anything, they can still call us and we will do our best to help them out,” said Burnham.

He said he would like to thank all the people who have reached out, and especially the business community who have offered assistance.

mandy.moraes@pqbnews.com

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Mandy Moraes

About the Author: Mandy Moraes

I joined Black Press Media in 2020 as a multimedia reporter for the Parksville Qualicum Beach News, and transferred to the News Bulletin in 2022
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