OYSTER RIVER, B.C- The cause of the fire that destroyed Salmon Point Restaurant and Pub remains unknown.
That’s according to Bruce Green, the fire chief for Oyster River.
Green said that the department got a call around 4:45 a.m. on Friday morning about sirens ringing at the popular restaurant. Once the deputy chief arrived on scene, he reported that the building was fully involved, and photos of the incident show the building engulfed in flame throughout the early morning.
Green indicated that firefighters took a defensive stance from the time they arrived, due to the state of the blaze.
“We were not going to risk the firefighters lives to save just the building,” said Green.
“There were lots of walls inside the building so it probably took a good hour, hour and a half to get it knocked down.”
Mutual aid from Campbell River was called in, with the departments ladder truck and a water tender arriving to the fire. As of this publication, mop-up work is ongoing.
Green stated it would likely be another two or three hours before the investigation into the cause could begin. He also said the fire was the biggest he had seen in Oyster River for a while.
-with files from Troy Landreville
