One of the new silos at Fibreco’s North Vancouver waterfront terminal has collapsed.
The incident happened around 2:30 p.m. Friday.
“Upon arrival it was determined that one of the silos has collapsed,” said assistant fire chief Jeremy Duncan. The on-site safety team has accounted for all their employees so no one's been injured and there's been no fatalities.”
The 12-storey-tall structure appears to have buckled from the bottom. As of Friday afternoon, it remains partially standing and leaning up against the adjacent grain silos.
Duncan said structural engineers are on their way to the site to investigate what happened, and how the facility can be made safe.
“We have set up a collapse zone and secured the scene so no one is coming in or out,” he said.
WorkSafeBC has also sent a prevention officer to the site.
Fibreco is owned by a consortium of forestry companies. It was originally built to export wood pellets and chips, which are byproducts from the lumber industry. In 2017, the company announced plans to redevelop the site and build all new silos and elevators for exporting grain. The District of North Vancouver granted building permits for the site in February 2018.
Fibreco did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
