SUMMERSIDE, Prince Edward Island — Tina Sears, CEO of Green Diamond Equipment Ltd., said the fire broke out at the Green Diamond facility in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, at 11 a.m. on Saturday and was noticed by one of their technicians, according to a story in the Journal Pioneer.
“He’s a volunteer firefighter and got the building empty,” explained Sears. “By the time the fire department got here the whole back shop was in flames. They thought they would be able to save the showroom and the office, but with the wind today it was not working in their favour. The building as you can see is basically a complete loss.”
It is not yet determined what sparked the fire, which has caused millions of dollars in damages, but an investigation is underway.
The dealership has 13 locations. Its Kentville, Nova Scotia, facility was named a Best in Class recipient in Rural Lifestyle Dealer's Dealership of the Year program in 2014.
“We lost the whole building, the shop, vehicles, customers’ equipment, and we haven’t even started to do an inventory of everything that was here, but it’s going to be around a few million dollars,” said Sears.
She added, “We are meeting with our insurance on Monday and will have a contingency plan in place to make sure that all of our customers are serviced and looked after while we rebuild.”
No one was hurt, and employees will continue to work from a rented building next week.
“Everybody will continue to get paid and we should be up and running in some location … by Tuesday, or Wednesday at the latest. We have other facilities up in Bloomfield, so if customers need something looked after, they can call there. And we do send technicians out and can get parts to them — whatever needs to be done,” said Sears.
Chief of Summerside Fire Department Jim Peters was at the scene. He said the fire spread quickly because of poor water supply and strong winds.
