At approximately 9 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 15 the Lake Cowichan Fire Department was called out to a fully involved structure fire at the Mountain Man Services building behind the Post Office in downtown Lake Cowichan.
LCFD Fire Chief Doug Knott said a building like this is a high fuel load building as it contains numerous flammable materials. The main building was a total loss with damage to the attached outbuildings as well. There were no injuries reported. Denis Pilon, owner of Mountain Man services says that the buildings are a complete write off and were not insured because of the cost of insurance. He states he has every intention of rebuilding the business, even if it means completing it one stick of wood at a time. An emotional Pilon says he worries about his customers who count on him for products only he can produce and for his employees who now have no job for the foreseeable future, many of those young people working their first job. Inside the burned out building sat the charred remains of Pilon's classic Harley Davidson, whose insurance had expired three days earlier.
LCFD Fire Chief Doug Knott would like to remind the public to stay clear of these incidents as the fire department had trouble getting a fire truck close to the fire because of so many people crowding into the area. One fireman was taken to hospital with smoke inhalation.