NEW WESTMINSTER (NEWS 1130) — A fire broke out at New Westminster’s Pier Park Sunday evening with flames surrounding a prominent piece of artwork and smoke causing SkyTrain service to be suspended.
HAPPENING NOW: A large fire has broken out at #NewWestminster Pier Park. Police and Fire are on the scene. @CityNewsVAN @NEWS1130 @BT_Vancouver pic.twitter.com/mK84HMUYhu
The park spans a stretch of riverfront along Front Street, and Ashley Burr with CityNews says she firstnoticed it around 8:30 p.m.
“There’s a massive fire right below the Pattullo Bridge in the New Westminster Pier Park,” she says.
“It’s absolutely horrid, the smoke is so thick you can not see past it. All you see is sharp flames.”
#SkyTrain Expo Line service between Columbia & Scott Rd Stn suspended due to fire. Expo Line is running between Waterfront & Production Way Stn. A bus bridge will operate between Scott Rd Stn to Columbia Stn, M-Line & Canada Line not affected.^jd
TransLink suspended Expo line SkyTrain service between Columbia and Scott Road stations, establishing a bus bridge.
Front Street has been closed in both directions, and drivers should use Columbia Street as an alternate route.
The fire is at the park near the Patullo Bridge where a large “W” statue can be found. Police have blocked off the area. @CityNewsVAN @NEWS1130 @BT_Vancouver pic.twitter.com/eGhzPFbyhn
“From the Surrey side and underneath the SkyTrain bridge you can actually see the black smoke just billowing up into the air. Huge flames going about two stories high and the thing that really strikes you is the sounds of all the firefighting equipment — sirens and many emergency personnel coming to the scene trying to get this thing under control,” he says.
Crews from New Westminster, Delta, and a boat from Vancouver were all on hand trying to fight the flames.
Although visible from the many condo and apartment buildings lining the quay, Claggett says the fire doesn’t seem to be threatening any structures.
“You’ve got this black heavy smoke going into the air and it actually is such a big fire that it stretched several blocks of the New Westminster waterfront.”
Fire stretching several blocks along the #NewWestminster waterfront. Many crews called in including a fireboat from Vancouver https://t.co/XyezgKtNNQ
A listener is one of a number of people who gathered to watch the scene unfold.
“The red W made of shipping containers is completely surrounded in large amounts of flame, there’s about 300 feet of the entire pier completely burning from underneath,” Fraser Hewitt says.
(Idk if the other half of the w fell… but it looks like it.)@cknw @NEWS1130 #newwestfire pic.twitter.com/VOfoCTpxI0
Getting a clearer picture of what’s happening in New Westminster. SkyTrain service has been suspended between Columbia and Scott Road Stations. Front Street is closed. Trying to get more details from the fire department. https://t.co/bKkKYeuhpI
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SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com/news/fire-breaks-out-at-new-westminster-pier-news-1130/?remotepost=271970
