A wood stove is to blame for a fire that broke out at a church in rural of Nanaimo Thursday afternoon.
Firefighters from Nanaimo Fire Rescue and East Wellington Fire Department responded to a structure fire at single-storey workshop behind World of Pentecost Church on Allsop Road at approximately 3 p.m. Thursday.
Greg Norman, assistant fire chief with Nanaimo Fire Rescue, told the News Bulletin the blaze was caused by a hot wood stove located close to a combustible wall assembly.
“The cause was radiant heat from a wood stove that was too close to a wall assembly,” he said. “I guess they’ve had it in there for years but it just got to a point where it looks like somehow there wasn’t enough clearance between the wood stove and it ended up igniting.”
No one was hurt or displaced, according to Norman, who said East Wellington firefighters provided water assistance to Nanaimo Fire Rescue crews because there are no fire hydrants near the church.
“It’s a mutual aid call. It’s actually within Nanaimo’s contracted area within the [Regional District of Nanaimo] and East Wellington was called upon to help us with water,” he said.
#Nanaimo #Fire @NanaimoBulletin Firefighters battle blaze on Alsop Road in Nanaimo @World of Pentacost Church. pic.twitter.com/M6yV0EgHt2
— Nanaimo Bulletin (@NanaimoBulletin) May 11, 2017
Here are some more photos from that structure fire in #Nanaimo this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/WFr1SuGT3w
— Nicholas M Pescod (@npescod) May 11, 2017