A fire in a Home Depot store on Saturday forced the evacuation of the entire University Heights Shopping Centre.
A senior official with the Saanich Fire Department said the initial call came in as an alarm bell about 11:30 a.m. When the single truck arrived at the mall, 3980 Shelbourne St., the crew found a fire in progress and called for help. The fire appeared to be in one of the aisles of the Home Depot store.
Two pump trucks, two ladder trucks and 19 firefighters responded and had the fire under control within one hour.
Nobody was injured.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, but it appears to have started in the store, said Saanich police Acting Sgt. Jereme Leslie.
Saanich police forensic investigators and Saanich fire investigators are inspecting the scene, he said.
The store has water and fire damage; however, there is no estimate of the total cost of the damage at this time, Leslie said.
Other stores in the shopping centre were also evacuated. The stores were allowed to reopen for customers about 2:15 p.m.
Home Depot employees and managers gathered outside refused to comment. The store remained closed for the remainder of the day.
Sidney couple Frank and Cathy Barber were in the store with a trolley full of lumber to buy when they heard somebody yell: “Fire.”
Cathy said she looked up and saw a metre-high flame on a high shelf near the lamp displays. “I didn’t see smoke, I saw flame and they booted us out of there quickly,” she said. “I think it was near the paint, so they might have been worried about some explosions.”
Other shoppers reported the evacuation of the store was handled very quickly and efficiently, despite a special Home Depot family day where parents were encouraged to bring children and many people were in the store when the alarms sounded.
Saanich police ask anyone with information on the fire to call the tip line at 250-475-4356.
