British Columbia

Car barge catches fire in Victoria's Gorge Waterway

The barge is loaded with crushed cars.

Flames visible as smoke pours out of barge filled with crushed cars

A barge loaded with crushed cars is on fire in the Victoria Gorge Waterway. (Joel Rushworth/@gwydiongjhr)

Victoria fire crews and a fire boat battled what appeared to be a large fire on a barge in the Gorge Waterway on Friday.

The barge is loaded with crushed cars and smoke and flames could be seen coming from the cars.

Even though thick black smoke could be seen billowing from the barge, no injuries have been reported.

Len Kirby, who works in an office building nearby, said there was concern about explosions when the fire broke out.

"Up in the building, the safety people came and said please get away from the glass, so we did. All of the employees were marshaled away," he said. 

Kirby said fire crews, including a fire boat, responded quickly and managed to knock down the flames.

It's not the first time the barge has attracted attention. In 2015, more than 50 crushed cars spilled into the Gorge Waterway after a barge listed to one side.

A barge full of crushed cars in on fire in Victoria's Gorge. (Mike McArthur/CBC)

With files from Megan Thomas