The neighbor of a barn that was destroyed by fire Tuesday morning said he's thankful for the fast response of local firefighters.
"They probably had over eight fire trucks out," Lorne Reicher said, responding to a fire in a barn where mushrooms were being grown at Chilliwack River Road and Bailey Road.
The fire broke out at about 5 a.m., and by 10 a.m. fire crews were still busy putting out flames as they flared back up. Reicher's property next door remained untouched, he said, and all his family and their animals were kept safe.
"The horses were going nuts. We're right behind them, right next to the barns," he said. "We're talking within just a few feet. I could reach over my fence and touch it."
Reicher said he went out and bought doughnuts for the firefighters as a way to thank them personally, but he wanted to acknowledge their hard work through the newspaper.
"These guys did a really amazing job," he said.
Five fire halls responded to the fire, finding smoke and flames coming from the middle of a barn. Assistant Fire Chief Mike Bourdon said the barn became fully involved very quickly, and that prompted crews to turn to a defensive attack to protect nearby buildings.
There were no injuries in the fire, and the cause is still under investigation.