While the cause of a shed fire in Metchosin is still being officially confirmed, sausages are being credited for starting a blaze that completely destroyed the structure and the brand new tractor it contained.
Metchosin Fire Chief Stephanie Dunlop said the property owner had sausages in a smoker inside the shed near his home in the 3700-block of Metchosin Rd. when the fire started.
Emergency crews arrived on scene just after 3 p.m. on Friday and found the shed “fully engulfed with flames candling up a nearby tree,” according to Dunlop. Due to the recent rains, however, damage to the trees was limited to a few burned branches.
While it only took crews five minutes to reach the fire after the call came in, they could not save the structure, she added. “With today’s building materials a fire can double in size – under the right circumstances, every 30 seconds … people don’t realize that.”
The owner was fortunate the fire was in an outbuilding, Dunlop said. “The advantage of a shed is nine times out of 10, no one’s inside.”
Once fire crews confirmed that fact, they quickly contained the blaze and knocked down the flames, preventing flammable materials inside the shed, such as firewood, gasoline and other combustibles, from igniting further. Colwood firefighters assisted on scene with their tanker truck.
katie@goldstreamgazette.com