North Whatcom Fire and Rescue (NWFR) extinguished an overnight dumpster fire that came close to destroying a popular restaurant in downtown Blaine.
At 2:36 a.m. on August 2, NWFR was dispatched to a reported dumpster fire in the alley and parking lot behind Peace Arch City Café, 658 Peace Portal Drive.
When responders arrived, a cardboard recycling bin was engulfed in flames, which had already spread to a wooden door frame set in the concrete wall of the restaurant’s building.
According to NWFR division chief and fire marshal Herschel Rostov, the fire was on the verge of spreading into the building’s attic through vents located on the side of the building. “It was a very fortunate situation. It was very close to involving the building itself, more than just the door frame,” he said. “It easily could have spread fire into the vents which then would have involved the attic of that building.”
The fire was upgraded to a structure fire, enabling eight units to respond to the emergency. NWFR responders were assisted by teams from Ferndale and Lynden.
Rostov said that after a thorough investigation, he could not determine the cause of the fire. “There wasn’t enough left after the fire to really have a good idea of what happened,” he said. “I dug through the pile and couldn’t find enough evidence left to point to whether it was accidental or not.”
On their Facebook page, Peace Arch City Café speculated that the cause of the fire could have been a cigarette butt discarded by a passerby. “Other than a minor scare, complete loss of the recycling bin, damage to the trash dumpster and the lingering smell of smoke, the business is fine, and no individuals were injured,” read the Facebook page.
The restaurant closed for repairs on August 2 but was back to normal operation on August 3.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here