BRACKLEY BEACH, P.E.I. — A fire that destroyed 16 executive suites and meeting rooms in a Brackley Beach tourism business started in a flower and mulch bed, says the province’s fire marshall’s office.
The exact cause is undetermined but is “highly likely’’ a discarded cigarette or piece of glass tossed into the mulch, which could have smoldered for a period of time.
The fire marshall’s office reports photographs taken in the early stages of the fire along with firsthand witness accounts from employees aided in determining the fire’s origin.
The incident is being treated as an accidental fire.
Seven fire departments helped to contain the bulk of damage to one building, most notably preventing damage to two separate buildings at North Winds containing 70 units.
“The heat and moderate wind conditions made this an extremely challenging fire to suppress,’’ the fire marshall’s office says in a statement.
Murray MacPherson, co-owner of the accommodation business, told The Guardian Monday he plans to rebuild the lost units that he valued at more than $2 million.
The executive suites each measured 1,600 square feet and featured a jacuzzi, fireplace and full kitchen.
Mulch, which is a combustible substance, was deemed the cause of a devastating apartment complex fire last week in Charlottetown that resulted in 52 people being displaced.
Take precautions
The fire marshall’s office strongly recommends the following practices in using mulch around homes, businesses or any other structure:
- Keep combustible mulch 18 inches from the building or combustible portions of the building (deck). Within that 18 inches a non-combustible ground cover such as crushed rock, brick, or pea gravel, should be used.
- Combustible mulch layers should be no more than three inches thick.
- Larger piles of mulch should not be exposed to the sun if at all possible.
- Keep combustible mulch near or around a building moist if possible.
- Ensure there are proper smoking receptacles to discard smoking materials so they are not thrown away in combustible mulch. Do not discard butts in mulch.
