A massive fire has destroyed a fruit farm storage facility and equipment worth $3 million near Vienna in Bayham Township.
Multiple crews were called to the blaze Tuesday evening around 9 p.m. and some were still on scene Wednesday dousing pop-up fires.
The facility was engulfed when crews from Bayham, Malahide, Aylmer and Norfolk arrived, with firefighters totalling close to 50, using 12 vehicles and apparatus.
Bayham fire chief Randy White said one firefighter had a minor injury. He was taken to hospital and released.
The Initial damage estimate is $3M
"The cause is unknown due to the extent of the damage," White said.
The owners of the facility are still in shock.
“It’s not the kind of thing you want to wake up to,” said Steve Martin, one of the brothers that owns Martin’s Family Fruit Farm, based in the Waterloo region.
Martin said although he was told about the blaze last night and his brother Ken drove to the scene, he is still trying to process everything.
“(Ken) arrived to see the walls cave in. It’s a loss,” Steve Martin said. “We will need storage again. We will try to pick up and move on from here.”
Martin said all of the refrigeration equipment and about 18,000 bins were destroyed but firefighters managed to save an outbuilding on site.
While some employers live nearby, he said he doesn’t believe any were on site at the time of the blaze and he is thankful for that.
The Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the blaze.
