Fire at Westwood Fibre Products

Black smoke could be seen billowing into the air on the Westside after a fire shortly after 8 o'clock Tuesday morning at Westwood Fibre Products.

Fire Chief Wayne Schnitzler says crews contained the blaze to the back of the wood pellet manufacturing plant.

Schnitzler admits fire crews are familiar with the building.

"We've had a few incidents here in the past. It's been quite a while since we've had an incident here. And of course being a wood fibre plant with dust and sawdust it's not uncommon to have small fires in these types of operations."

Close to ten employees at the back of the building were evacuated safely.

It's believed the fire was started by a piece of machinery inside the building, yet the fire department has yet to confirm that.

Regan Bartel - Astral Media Radio News (Kelowna)