Restaurant owners in Duncan have been stepping forward with the prospect of jobs for displaced workers in the wake of a fire that destroyed the city’s White Spot on Friday morning.
The restaurant, in Duncan since 1995, has a staff of about 40.
The company will try to keep affected staff employed, said Cathy Tostenson, White Spot’s vice-president of marketing.
“We do have a number of restaurants on the Island.”
She said it was heartening to see the support from the community.
“It’s such an amazing town and everyone’s banding together.”
There were no injuries in the fire, which took about 90 minutes to bring under control.
The Duncan Volunteer Fire Department was called to the Trans-Canada Highway site just before 5 a.m. after smoke was spotted by a security company on patrol.
“When I arrived on scene with the deputy chief, there was heavy smoke coming from the back corner of the building in the kitchen area,” said Duncan Fire Chief Mike McKinlay.
“Shortly afterward, there was heavy fire coming out of that area.
“It just went across the ceiling and pretty well the whole roof collapsed in on itself.”
Shifts at the White Spot weren’t due to start until 6 a.m., so no one was inside, McKinlay said.
“They confirmed probably about 45 minutes into the fire that everybody was accounted for.”
The Duncan department responded to the blaze with 23 firefighters and three fire trucks. Assistance was provided by the North Cowichan Fire Department’s South End Hall.
The building is a write-off and the cause of the fire has yet to be determined, McKinlay said.
“We put an excavator in there already to pull some of the stuff out because we couldn’t get at the fire,” he said.
Tostenson said the news of the fire hit the company hard.
“We are devastated,” she said. “It’s so sad. Thank goodness that no one was in the restaurant and everyone is safe.”
White Spot plans to stay in Duncan, she said.
“We will definitely rebuild. Obviously that will take time, but absolutely, we will be back.”
