'A part of history is gone' as arsonist strikes village

BY SARAH GLEN

Times Colonist staff

July 22, 2002

SHAWNIGAN LAKE — Arson is suspected in a stubborn blaze that destroyed the heart of Shawnigan Lake village Sunday and left residents reeling.

"This is a major, major loss to the community," said Shawnigan Lake RCMP Christ, Trent Richards.

 The Shawnigan Lake fire department was called to the blaze, which started at 5:30 a.m., as it ripped through Shawnigan Lake People’s Pharmacy, That’s Entertainment Video Store and Banana Bell Organic Market at the intersection of Shawnigan Lake/Mill Bay and East Shawnigan Lake roads.

No one was injured in the fire. Shawnigan Lake RCMP said arson is suspected in the fire that kept firefighters busy for almost eight hours. The cause is unknown.

Glens Sanders, fire chief for Shawnigan Lake volunteer fire department, said the fire may have started in or around the damaged door to the complex’s electrical room, at the back of the pharmacy.

"I believe the door was kicked in and that’s somewhat suspicious," he said.

The trio of stores that form the core of the village normally bustles with activity, said Richards. There are about 15 to 20 employees working in the complex. It is still too early to tell how many will lose their jobs after the fire.

"This is what we’ve known. A part of history is gone here," said Yvonne Roy, a hairdresser who offered to rent videos from the salon, Headlines. She said she felt obligated to help out because she worked in the complex so much of her job was before moving to her current location under the nearby general store.

Meaghan Filgate was walking with her friends and stopped, speechless, Sunday afternoon she also surveyed the damage. The 14-year-old said the video store, which also housed the Shawnigan Lake Java Bar, was "the spot" for local teens to look up. "I don’t know where we will go now," she said. There isn’t another coffee bar in the village.

Kris Simic, an employee at the video store, said she is grateful no one was hurt in the blaze. Normally, the store opens at 6 a.m. on weekdays. On Sundays, it opens at 9:30 a.m.Now, she worries about the future of her job at the video store. Simic used to live in the village but now commutes from Duncan, about a half-hour drive away.

 Babak (Bob) Mehr, owner of the pharmacy, was called out to the fire at 6:40 a.m. He said none of his employees will lose their job but isn’t sure how he will balance rebuilding his business with staffing needs over the next few weeks.

Mehr plans to rebuild Shawnigan Lake’s only pharmacy, and he will continue to fill prescriptions from a trailer across the street.

The temporary business will be up and running by Tuesday or Wednesday, he said, "I’ll have to start all over again. I can’t let my community down," he said.

The pharmacy was eventually gutted by the blaze.

All of the business owners carry insurance to their property, but that’s a small consolation for Mehr and the other owners, who stood across the street Sunday morning watching their stores literally go up in smoke.

 Mehr set up his pharmacy three years ago in the village. He lost everything in the fire except three binders of patient information and electronic files he downloaded directly to his computer at home each evening.

While he plans to rebuild, Mehr said there are some items in the store he will never be able to replace. Numerous antiques and photos of his patients’ cats and dogs were destroyed.Mehr compounded prescriptions for resident animals as well. He also owns a pharmacy in View Royal.

"I am getting nothing but personal support from my patients."

Sanders said he had never seen a fire like this one over his 17-year-long career as fire chief. The structure of the complex frustrated the fire department’s efforts to control the blaze.

Sanders said the business complex had been renovated to include false ceilings and a false roof.

 The fire moved through the spaces between these structures, which forced firefighters to douse the flames from the ground outside, instead of from the roof or from inside.

A water pumper from Mill Bay was also called in to help the 25 volunteer firefighters from Shawnigan Lake who battled the blaze.

"This was a very difficult fire to fight," said Sanders. "We feel it isn’t worth the sacrifice of a firefighter’s life to save property."