A grocery store near Steveston Community Centre is currently on fire, filling the skies with plumes of smoke on Friday late afternoon.
Trevor Northrup, assistant deputy chief with Richmond Fire-Rescue said firefighters arrived on scene to heavy smoke coming out of the Super Grocer & Pharmacy on No. 1 Road.
"What we initially saw outside was heavy smoke pouring out of three sides of the building, which made entry and locating the fire difficult," said Northrup.
"It quickly became apparent there was a structural collapse hazard as this is an old building."
Because of the collapse hazard, he added, firefighters deemed it a "defensive fire", meaning it was unsafe for anyone to be inside the building, and could only tackle the fire by putting "heavy volume of water on the fire" from the outside.
"We are pausing fire operations right now just to reassess the conditions," said Northrup.
The fire has been significantly knocked down, but the cause of the fire is still being investigated.
There is no report of civilian or staff injured.
Richmond community member La Toya Olson told the Richmond News she started smelling the smoke from Super Grocer & Pharmacy shortly before 5 p.m. on Friday.
Photos and videos submitted by Olson and Glacier Media's Graeme Wood show the area covered in a thick blanket of smoke.
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