Cause of fire that closed Highway 1 near Duncan Sunday morning under investigation

Fire crews in North Cowichan knocked down a large fire that closed the Trans Canada Highway near Duncan early Sunday morning. (Twitter/@NorthCowichan)

Fire crews in North Cowichan knocked down a large fire that closed the Trans Canada Highway near Duncan early Sunday morning.

The municipality said on Twitter that all four of its fire halls responded to the blaze at OK Tire near the highway's interchange with Norcross Road. Crews from the Duncan and Ladysmith fire departments also responded to the fire.

North Cowichan Fire Chief Martin Drakeley told CTV News the call first came in just after 3:45 a.m., and firefighters soon determined more resources were needed to battle the blaze.

A total of three ladder trucks, six fire engines and 45 firefighters from across the three departments responded to battle the fire, which Drakeley said burned a lot of old tires that were being stored inside the building.

Crews worked to contain the fire to the OK Tire side of the building as much as possible, and Drakeley said another business at the opposite side of the building suffered minimal damage as a result of the blaze.

He said an RV lot adjacent to the building was fortunate that the wind was blowing smoke and flames away from it, leaving it unaffected.

No one was inside the building at the time the fire broke out, and no injuries have been reported, Drakeley said.

The municipality made its initial post about the fire shortly after 8 a.m. By 10 a.m., the fire was under control, the highway had reopened and crews were mopping up.

"Crews were able to contain the fire to the area where old tires were stored, though the building sustained damage," the municipality said. "An investigation into the cause is underway."