Canada – Crews Battle Fire At Vancouver’s Port For 40 hours

Crews from Vancouver Fire Rescue Service in Canada battled a stubborn fire in a grain elevator at the Port of Vancouver that burned for around 40 hours before finally extinguishing it on Saturday, 25 January 2020. Fire fighters surrounded the facility operated by the Saskatchewan-based grain company Viterra around 19h00 on Thursday night, 23 January 2020 and were still on scene at that time Friday. On Friday, crews said they were struggling to put the fire out and were trying to come up with a different tactic to attack it. Since it began, the fire has flared up in a different spot inside the facility, they said. Between 24 and 30 fire fighters were on scene on Friday night. Fire Chief Darrell Reid tweeted at 3h05 on Saturday morning, “@VanFireRescue has been fighting this extremely stubborn grain terminal fire for over two days! Please join me in thanking all of our commanders and crews who have been working hard and solving complex problems.”

According to the company’s website, Viterra is a grain and oilseeds handling company headquartered in Regina, Saskatchewan. It is part of the Agricultural Business Segment of Glencore, which has a global network of 90 offices in 50 countries and employs approximately 190 000 people worldwide. Viterra spokesperson Peter Flengeris said the fire was under control and had been since Thursday night but he was unsure of what caused the incident or what exactly was burning. There have been no reports of any injuries resulting from the fire.

On Saturday afternoon, Vancouver Fire and Rescue assistant chief Dan Stroup said the fire had finally been completely put out and crews were now trying to get the product out of the grain terminal.