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NEWS photo Terry Peters

WEST VANCOUVER firefighter Danny Pistilli blasts a stream of Fire broke out early Thursday, gutting the Marine Drive building

water onto the smoldering ruins of Ferguson Moving and Storage.

A STUBBORN blaze fuel-
led by stored furniture gut-
ted 2 60-year-old) West
Vancouver landmark — early
Thursday.

By Michael Becker

News Reporter

West Vancouver District Fire
Departmen: firefighters were call-
ed to) Ferguson Moving and
Storage, 22320 Marine Dre. at
about 2 a.m., following an initial
report of the smell of smoke in

and contents. The cause of the fire has not been determined.

Stored furniture fuels West Vancouver fire

contents lost in the fire remained
undetermined.
While not an

the neighborhood.

Said West Vancouver fire chiet
Colin Evans, “They went down to
check it out and upon arrival they
found that the building was com-
pletely involved.”

The fire may have
work of an arsonist.

id West) Vancouver Police
Staff Set. ank Adkenhead, ‘Lt
would appear the place was
broken into. There was a pane of
glass taken out of a door that had

been the

been focked by the owner
previously. We're pretty confident
thacit had been broken into.”

Police have not determined if a
fire accelerant was used. The fire
started inside the south side of the
building.

Fhe fire department eventualiv
brought in three pumiper tracks,
an aerial ladder truck and 28 men
to extinguish the blaze.

According to Evans, the wood
structure did not have a sprinkler

system installed.

“There was a heck of a lot of
furniture in there and it was very
difficult to get at.” he added.

Ht took firefighters two hours to
bring the fire under control.

And firefighters had to tap inte

yeen supplied by North Van-
couver City Fire Department
beeause of the large amount of
smoke generated by the blaze.

To ptess time Thursday, the
value of the property and building

Se NST Sai ERE SPM Bei ark TTS

olficiaby desiz-
nated heritage site, Ferguson
Moving and Storage was originally
built as a meeting hall in 1930 by
the Loyal Orange Lodge.

According to George Ferguson,
the son of Ferguson Moving and
Storage founder Jimmy Fergtison,
his father bought: the hall and
converted it to a business base
during the Depression,