Fire crews battle overnight blazes in Pitt Meadows, Abbotsford

Bright orange flames could be seen several kilometres away from a dairy farm in Pitt Meadows, while Abbotsford fire crews were busy with a garage fire in a rural part of the city.

RCMP said owners managed to rescue some of the cattle from Pitt Meadows dairy farm fire

CBC News · Posted: Feb 08, 2019 8:55 AM EST | Last Updated: February 8, 2019

RCMP said no one was hurt in the Pitt Meadows barn fire, but could not confirm if all the cattle made it out safely. (Gian-Paolo Mendoza/CBC)

Fire crews in Pitt Meadows and Abbotsford were kept busy fighting fires overnight.

The first was a large fire that destroyed a barn on a dairy farm in PItt Meadows.

The blaze sent a thick cloud of smoke into the air when the fire broke out just after midnight Friday at a farm in the 20100-block of Dewdney Trunk Road.

Bright orange flames could be seen as far as the Pitt River Bridge.

<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BREAKING?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BREAKING</a> - fully engulfed barn fire in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PittMeadows?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PittMeadows</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PMFRMA_official?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PMFRMA_official</a> <a href="https://t.co/d2SGCu7oJr">pic.twitter.com/d2SGCu7oJr</a>
—@gpsmendoza

Ridge Meadows RCMP said no one was hurt and the owners managed to get most of the cattle at the farm out of the barn.

They could not confirm if all the cattle made it out safely.

The towering flames could be seen from as far away as the Pitt River Bridge. (Gian-Paolo Mendoza/CBC)

Shop fire in Abbotsford

In Abbotsford, fire crews were called to a large building fire in the 27000-block of Townshipline Road around 2 a.m. PT.

The building, believed to be a shop that housed cars and automotive parts, was entirely engulfed in flames when crews arrived.

<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Abbotsford?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Abbotsford</a> duty chief Craig Bird says the negative temps tonight made fighting this fire difficult <a href="https://twitter.com/iaff2864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@iaff2864</a> <a href="https://t.co/kujScssRgM">pic.twitter.com/kujScssRgM</a>
—@gpsmendoza

Crews had trouble getting hoses to the fire, as a large locked gate was blocking the only entrance to the property. The freezing temperatures also presented a challenge, said assistant fire chief Craig Bird.

"Definitely below zero conditions right now and cold temperatures makes fire fighting with water a little more difficult," he said.

"We do have collapse potential in this building so that this point in time, it's a defensive fire," he added.

Both blazes are currently under investigation.