2007-02-15 Tire warehouse avoids potential fire disaster (By Vern Faulkner)

A flurry of 911 calls saved a tire warehouse in Esquimalt from almost certain destruction.

Late Sunday evening, Esquimalt Fire Rescue received at least five reports of a fire coming from a warehouse cluster at 933 Ellery St.

"There was a bunch of debris and pallets and wood and refuse in the alley that had been lit on fire and was burning quite furiously," stated Asst. Chief John James.

When fire crews arrived, shortly after 6:45 p.m., flames were already 10 metres high, and starting to lick underneath the roofing system of a warehouse stocked with bike tires.

"We feel that if it hadn't been seen by the residents who called us, we would have had a really had time," James said.

The warehouse, occupied by Moser Industries, is the central distribution nexus for all Schwalbe tires – a popular brand – distributed throughout North America.

Co-owner Celeste Moser expressed her gratitude for the quick response of Esquimalt Fire Rescue.

Celeste and her husband Klaus arrived at the scene around 7 p.m.

"We raced over immediately, and they had just put out the flames," she recalled. "When we opened the door, it was just a wall of smoke."

The wood under the metal roof had just started to char and catch fire.

"That's why we're very grateful," she said. The fire started in a narrow two-metre gap between warehouses immediately adjacent to the E&N rail corridor.

James stated that the fire was clearly set by intent.

"It certainly didn't happen accidentally," he said.

While investigators have not ruled out the possibility that the fire may have been an accident caused by homeless people burning pallets for heat, "I can't see that at 6:30 in the evening," James said.

Firefighters estimate damage at $5,000.

However, said James, the impact could have been much worse had it not been for so many alert witnesses reporting the blaze.

"Perhaps the time of day, in the early evening, it was evident that there was a fire going on," he said. "If the fire had occurred in the wee hours of the morning… the fire would have been well into it before we would have (received) a call." Moser agreed.

"We're so damn lucky," she said.

editor@esquimaltnews.com