A massive fire destroyed an autobody business just south of Duncan early Tuesday.
The fire gutted the Island Auto Wrap & Vinyl shops owned by Isherwood Body & Fender on an industrial lot off Boys Road.
Videos and photos on social media show firefighters using a ladder truck to douse towering flames at about 5:20 a.m.
Reena Parhar, of Parhar Group, said since 1981 her family has owned the three units at 2943 Boys Rd., all destroyed by the fire, as well as the nearby building at 5440 Trans Canada Highway, which was left intact.
The buildings are all rented to businesses run by Isherwood, she said.
Parhar said business owners Ryan Isherwood and Marnie Nicklin Isherwood “were just so distraught” because of the fire. She said her family has a great working relationship with them. “They’ve been a long-standing, great, amazing tenant.” The Parhar Group, as the building owners, have no part in the businesses themselves.
“The most important thing is that no one got hurt,” Parhar said.
“It’s just really unfortunate in times like this that people are out of work,” said Parhar, estimating the company employs eight to nine people. “You just want to rally behind them and support the people who have lost their livelihood.”
Duncan Fire Chief Landis Carmichael told the Times Colonist the department received a 911 call about the Tuesday fire at 5:22 a.m. Firefighters arrived to find the building fully engulfed in flames.
Autobody businesses can be filled with many chemicals all of which may have contributed to the size of the fire, said Carmichael, noting the business did not have a sprinkler system. The fire took six hours to extinguish and at the peak of the blaze 25 firefighters from three departments, including North Cowichan and Cowichan Bay, were on scene.
The fire is under investigation by the Office of the Fire Commissioner.
Isherwood Body & Fender Ltd. said in a social media post that it is “in disbelief.” “To all our customers that have vehicles at the shop please give us some time to sort through this,” said the post on Facebook. It said the company will reach out to customers as it knows more, but is currently unable to access customer information.
Ryan Isherwood expressed gratitude on social media for the “overwhelming support” the company has received. “There’s a lot to sort through at the moment but I’m grateful for you all,” he said.
The previous night, the company had publicly thanked Duncan Fire for its quick response to a “small fire,” saying it had been extinguished, everyone was safe, and no customer vehicles had been harmed. That fire broke out just after 6 p.m. Monday.
“These fires are being investigated as two separate incidents,” said Carmichael.
[email protected]
