Fire destroys building of longstanding Chemainus business Sunday
More than 20 firefighters battled the blaze for five hours, and officials say the cause remains under investigation.
- On Sunday, July 26, 2026, a massive fire destroyed a 4,000-square-foot building at Viper Fuels on Henry Road in Chemainus, with North Cowichan Fire Department crews extinguishing the blaze over five hours.
- Responding firefighters treated the blaze as a highly explosive event, cooling propane tanks as some exploded; Deputy Fire Chief Chris Jancowski noted the site's complexity as a propane facility with heat damaging nearby Tyvek Homewrap.
- Sarah Day, a bus driver returning from Parksville, spotted flames from the highway and called 911, while more than 20 firefighters battled the blaze with assistance from the RCMP and BC Emergency Health Services.
- One firefighter was transported to the hospital with a knee injury but has since been released; Viper Fuels owner Rosmus stated the business employs eight people and expects to resume operations within a couple of days.
- Fire Chief Ron French stated the investigation remains in early phases, pending an insurance fire investigator's arrival today, though Rosmus expressed confidence the incident was an accident.
5 Articles
5 Articles
Ladysmith Chronicle
Fire Levels Viper Fuels building in Chemainus
A long-established Chemainus business’s building was left devastated after a massive fire destroyed it over the weekend. The North Cowichan Fire Department responded to a structure fire at Viper Fuels on Henry Road at approximately 1:40 a.m. on Sunday. Fire Chief Ron French said more than 20 firefighters responded to battle the blaze, with assistance from the RCMP and BC Emergency Health Services. Sarah Day, who lives in Duncan but works as a bu…
Fire destroys building of longstanding Chemainus business Sunday
A building of a longstanding business in Chemainus has been destroyed by a fire early Sunday morning. Firefighters arrived at a huge inferno at Viper Fuels in Chemainus, a company that’s been recycling and refilling propane cylinders on Vancouver Island since 1999. Watch the story below: Loading the player... “At around 4:30, my business partner stopped by my house and let me know the bad news: that there’d been a fire,” said Mark Rosmus, a co-…
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