‘It’s a thing that happens from time to time’; Firefighters knock down dryer fire at Tolko mill in Heffley Creek

KAMLOOPS — What may have been an impressive looking fire at the Tolko mill in Heffley Creek Tuesday (May 5) night wasn’t a rare occasion for Kamloops Fire Rescue (KFR). 

Smoke and flames were seen coming from the roof of a building on the Tolko site during the 9:00 p.m. hour Tuesday. However, KFR Platoon Chief Kris Krutop told CFJC Today the fire was confined to a dryer in one of Tolko’s buildings and quickly knocked down. No injuries were reported. 

“We definitely want people reporting it. But for [Tolko], it’s a thing that happens from time to time. It’s not totally unusual for us to go there and have a fire in their dryer or somewhere else in their building,” Krutop says. 

Krutop adds KFR crews searched the entire building and checked the dryers with a thermal image camera, but nothing came up.