Suspect arrested as Kamloops RCMP, firefighters investigate arson fire near Emterra Environmental

Napier said a Kamloops RCMP officer was driving by the area when they noticed the fire, and called it in. Nearly two dozen Kamloops firefighters responded to the blaze, which had spread to the nearby Emterra Environmental facility on Kelly Douglas Road.

“On arrival, they had heavy flame and smoke. Actually, I think it was coming from about four or five different debris piles as well as multiple trees,” Kamloops Fire Rescue assistant chief Colin Tomm told CFJC Today.

Tomm said firefighters were on scene for about six hours, adding they were able to bring the fire under control just after midnight.

“A lot of the fire was up against the building, but fortunately the building was mostly non-combustibles,” Tomm said. “There was actually kind of a primary sweep to make sure it hadn’t actually extended inside the building. Fortunately, it was just some lighter smoke in there.”

Cleanup was underway at the Emterra facility Thursday morning when CFJC Today stopped by. While a company spokesperson declined comment, they confirmed no injuries were reported.

“As the incident is currently being assessed, we are not in a position to comment on the cause,” Ashley Darrah, Emterra’s senior marketing, communications and engagement specialist, said via email. “We are working closely with fire, police and other relevant authorities, and would defer any questions to those agencies.”

“We are thankful no injuries were reported and appreciate the swift response of emergency responders.”

Brent Marshall works at Top40 Woodworks located next door to Emterra. In addition to it being extremely smoky, he told CFJC Today that it was a nervous time as ash was falling down on their building.

“The smell was horrendous. The heat – it had to be pushing 120 F (~49 C) at our door,” Marshall said. “I opened it and you had to step right back in and close the door immediately because the wind was pushing directly at our building at that point.”

“Of course, us being a wood shop, having lots of wood in and around the building, definitely made us take a look around and ensure we had no issues on our site.”

Details about the suspect or the nature of the arrest aren’t known at this time. It’s also not clear how exactly the fire was sparked, but a plume of thick black smoke was visible across parts of Kamloops.

“Incident command did a great job. Truly, crews got it under control faster than I would have expected,” Tomm said. “Fortunately, nobody was really in our way. We didn’t have a problem with the trains or anything like that, too, which is always an issue when we’re down there.”

Added Napier, “We are looking for anyone who might have been in the area around 6:00 p.m. and leading up to when the fire broke out to please contact the police.”

People with information or dash cam footage can call the Kamloops RCMP at 250-828-3000 or Crime Stoppers at 1800-222-8477 (TIPS) and reference file 2026-29393.

by Victor Kaisar

Suspect arrested as Kamloops RCMP, firefighters investigate arson fire near Emterra Environmental

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