Keremeos Structure Fire

It was a dangerous scene in Keremeos Friday morning as firefighters responded to a structure fire.

Just after 4 a.m. the Keremeos Fire Department received a call about a fire on a farm located at 910 Highway 3A.

Fire Chief Jordy Bosscha says when crews arrived they found a shed fully engulfed in flames.

"It was a farming building used to store equipment, including propane tanks.
The tanks were exploding when the crews arrived. They managed to suppress the fire, but only a shell was left. A back-hoe was brought in to save an attached building," says Bosscha.

He says the second building, used as a cold-storage space for fruit, was only slightly damaged.

"Once they were assured there were no more propane tanks in either building, they were able to enter and extinguish the blaze from the inside," says Bosscha.

He says damage to the shed was total and several pieces of expensive farm equipment were also destroyed.

Bosscha says the cause of the fire in under investigation.

"Someone at the scene indicated they had left a battery on a bench and left a battery charger hooked up to it, so we're looking at that. But that isn't the only possibility we are going to look at," says Bosscha.