A Mitchell Island mattress recycling business went up in flames Friday afternoon.
The fire broke out just before 2 p.m., June 16, according to Richmond Fire Department, and sent up a massive wall of flame and smoke. Richmond Fire Chief John McGowan said there were no deaths or injuries.
The fire was contained but was still burning as of 3:30 p.m., and the building is expected to be completely destroyed. No other businesses in the area were affected by the fire.
"The challenge with the building is it was full of combustible mattress material," said Richmond Fire Chief John McGowan. "And there was also a partial collapse of the building."
The company, Mattress Recycling, employs approximately 50 people. Fabio Scaldaferri, the company's CEO, is not making comments to the media.
The company, which was featured in Business in Vancouver in January, was started in 2008. It recycles old mattresses. Mattress Recycling recovers the steel and foam from discarded mattresses and sells it to companies in Vancouver, Alberta and Washington state.
It's the second fire to destroy Scaldaferri's business. In 2015, a previous mattress recycling plant he owned was destroyed by fire.
