The lone gas station in the central Island community of Bowser, about 20 kilometres north of Qualicum Beach, was destroyed in a Tuesday-night fire that brought out several fire departments.
Deputy Chief Mark Taylor of the Bow Horn Bay Fire Department was the first on scene and saw that fuel pumps, power lines and numerous propane and gas cylinders were engulfed in flame.
Low-voltage power lines had melted, dropping live lines to the ground, creating a dangerous situation.
At the fire department’s request, B.C. Hydro shut off the power, allowing firefighters to move closer to the engulfed structure, Fire Chief Clayton Bucoviz said in a statement.
Bow Horn Bay firefighters were joined by the Dashwood, Coombs-Hilliers, Qualicum Beach and Deep Bay fire departments. A total of about 60 firefighters responded just before 10 p.m. and were at the site until 3:30 a.m.
Firefighters worked to protect a home to the east and Tomm’s Food Village to the west of the Bowser Esso Station, Bucoviz said.
While it’s unclear how the fire started, he said, it began in one of the vehicle-repair bays and quickly spread throughout the structure.
B.C. Emergency Health Services paramedics were there throughout to assist crews, as needed, he said,
Highway 19A was closed but reopened at about 3:30 am.
Bowser resident Reine Bruhn said the station was being run by a young man who inherited it from his father, and it served an area population of about 1,000.
Bruhn said the nearest gas station now is in Fanny Bay, about 15 minutes away.
