Massive fire destroys four businesses in Parksville, B.C.

A massive fire ripped through a strip mall in Parksville, B.C., on Wednesday night, gutting two restaurants, an animal hospital and the offices of the local newspaper.

Firefighters from multiple departments attended the blaze just after 10:30 p.m. at the Parksville Heritage Centre at 1209 Island Highway East.

Firefighters from multiple departments attended the blaze just after 10:30 p.m. at the Parksville Heritage Centre at 1209 Island Highway East. (CTV News)

"When we arrived, we found smoke out of all the eaves of the structure on the northeast side," said Parksville fire Chief Marc Norris.

The flames quickly spread through the roof and the trusses dropped into the businesses below as they burned. The fire chief says the building was built in the 1960s or 1970s and has been renovated many times.

"This is quite an old building, has several ceilings in it," he said. "The crews were unable to get to it, the fire spread through the loft area and the truss bases."

Norris says there were no fire separations between the units. He believes the fire started inside one of the building’s two restaurants.

Hydro and gas was disconnected from the building and Norris says two propane tanks were removed from the area. Crews also had to wade through a large knee-deep water puddle that filled a portion of the parking lot.

The businesses were unoccupied at the time of the fire.