Williams Lake concrete plant will rebuild after devastating fire

The owners of the United Concrete and Gravel Ltd. plant in Williams Lake, B.C. will rebuild after the company's main operational building was destroyed in an industrial fire on Monday.

Owner Sue Zacharias was starting her work day when she heard commotion in one of the shop bays.

"The fire escalated so quickly," she said.

"My husband grabbed a fire extinguisher and tried to put the fire out and so did our lead mechanic, but it happened in an area where there wasn't anybody doing anything."

Despite their efforts, the fire spread quickly, according to Zacharias.

Soon the entire building was in flames — pushing smoke into the sky that was visible from many parts of the city.

Williams Lake resident John Dell watched the fire from his home more than one kilometer away.

"It was definitely blazing," he said. "You could see flames really shooting up into the air and a lot of black smoke."

The fire destroyed the concrete plant's main operational building.

No one injured

Zacharias said it's fortunate no one was injured.

"Everybody got out of the building. Everybody is OK," she said. "We are just so so grateful."

The company lost all the offices, shop bays, lunchroom and computer systems in the fire but it continued to operate.

All of the more than two-dozen employees are back at work, according to Zacharias.

"We have orders to fill. We have concrete ready-mix plants in 100 Mile House, an hour south and Quesnel, an hour north," she said.  

Zacharias said the whole company is pulling together.

"We have been in business for over 40 years and we are a family," she said. "That is why we are so grateful — we can replace the stuff. We can't replace people."

The company is bringing in portable offices and portable toilets until it can rebuild what was lost.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.