District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services investigators say they likely won’t ever know what caused a fire that destroyed an unused shed next to the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing bridgehead, Thursday morning.
Crews were called to the scene before 8 a.m. when people noticed smoke coming from the shack, just south of the Main Street on-ramp.
The on-ramp had to be shut down for part of the morning rush hour. Crews from the district and North Vancouver City Fire Department dumped two truckloads of water onto the site and still had to connect hoses to a hydrant on Barrow Street to get it extinguished, said assistant chief Chris Byrom.
In the past, the building was used for soil and gravel sales, but Byrom said it had been abandoned for years. There is little left of it, he added.
“I would think it would be unsafe. I’m sure it won’t take much to push it down,” he said.
After wrapping up their investigation on Friday, Byrom said the cause will have to go down as “undetermined.”
Abandoned buildings are frequently sought out as shelter for people who have nowhere else to live, but Byrom said they did not see evidence of that.
“There was just nothing found,” he said.
