A firefighter suffered minor burns during a structure fire that destroyed a workshop on a Cherry Creek property north of Port Alberni on March 14, 2025.
The call came in after noon that a building in the 6100-block of Strathcona Street was on fire and black smoke could be seen for several kilometres. Emergency responders from Cherry Creek Volunteer Fire Dept. were quickly on scene and joined by fire crews from Port Alberni, Sproat Lake and Beaver Creek. An ambulance from BC EHS was also dispatched.
The large shop had a 4x9-metre (14x30-foot) bay door and firefighters were putting water into the back of the shop where the fire started, Cherry Creek Fire Chief Lucas Banton explained. "The door came down—it had burned through the supports. It started to flash out at the same time."
A firefighter was nine metres or 30 feet away from the fire and trying to put his second glove on when he was hit by the door. He suffered blistered knuckles, Banton said. He described the unnamed firefighter's injury as minor; paramedics on scene provided treatment.
"We found out later the shed had a large (combustible) fuel load stored in it." The shed was full of cedar lumber for a future construction project, and the lumber ignited, he added.
The large shop had three bays and Banton said crews were able to stop the fire before it reached the third bay, which housed a wake boat. Otherwise, the rest of the shop and contents were destroyed.
Banton said firefighters responded immediately and were on scene within minutes. "We got a line off right away and we started hitting it. It just quicklyl built." The fire was knocked down by about 1:15 p.m., however, crews at the scene said much of the building has collapsed. Crews remained on scene for several hours, monitoring for hot spots and mopping up.
The day was a busy one for Port Alberni fire crews: one crew responded to the Cherry Creek fire as mutual aid. Several first responder calls came in within the same couple of hours, prompting that department to call in an extra crew.
