Fire at Buckerfield's

Photo: Contributed

Fire crews were called to the Buckerfield's in Salmon Arm Sunday evening.

Salmon Arm fire crews were called to Buckerfield's Sunday evening following a report of smoke in the building.

Fire Chief Brad Shirley said when crews arrived they found “an aggressive fire” on the second floor of the structure at 6 p.m.

“They were able to quickly knock it down, but there was some fire extension throughout the upper level of the building so we spent a couple hours dealing with that,” said Shirley.

Of particular concern was the amount of fertilizers in the building, but Shirley said they were on the lower floor of the store away from the fire.

The cause of the fire is not yet known, but Shirley said it does not seem suspicious.

An investigation will be conducted today in an effort to determine the cause.

Shirley said it was “very fortunate” staff was in the building and called the fire department “otherwise it could have had a very different outcome.”

Shirley said there was still “fairly significant damage to the second floor and of course there is water damage to the retail section down below.

“I suspect they won't be open for a while, but it is very salvageable," he said.