The Cassidy Farm Market, a fixture for decades on the Trans-Canada Highway south of Nanaimo, has been destroyed by fire.
Fire ripped through the structures that included produce stands and a deli across from the Nanaimo Airport early Wednesday, causing extensive damage.
Cranberry Volunteer Fire Department as well as crews from North Cedar and North Oyster departments answered the call just before 3 a.m. and found the structures engulfed in flames.
Crews arrived to find structures completely engulfed, Garry Hein, deputy fire chief at the Cranberry Volunteer Fire Department, told CHEK News.
It took firefighters about four hours to extinguish the blaze. Foul play is not suspected.
No injuries were reported and the cause is being investigated by the B.C. fire commissioner.
The farm market has been an Island landmark since 1979, when it first opened as Johnson’s Farm Market, according to the market’s website.
After 22 years the Johnsons retired and passed the business on to the Fongs, who took over operations as the Cassidy Farm Market and Deli.
The blaze resulted in the closure of one highway lane for half a kilometre, according to the Transportation Ministry.
