Firefighters with the St. John’s Regional Fire Department (SJRFD) battled high winds and driving rain while fighting a fire at a commercial businesses late Monday night.

Shortly after 11:30 p.m. crews responded to a commercial fire alarm at Central Dairies on Bruce Street, in Donovan’s Industrial Park. When firefighters arrived smoke and flames could be seen coming from the rear of the building. The call was immediately upgraded to a structure fire, with resources being summoned from multiple stations to fight the blaze.

SJRFD Platoon Chief Derek Hunt stated the fire appears to have started near a garbage compactor, and spread to a small structure at the rear of the building. Firefighters quickly set up an aerial ladder to attack the flames from above. Firefighters also went inside the main building, spraying water at the fire from inside in an attempt to prevent spread of the flames.

Crews were successful in stopping the fire from spreading to the building itself, despite the fact flames were fanned by strong winds in heavy rain. It took firefighters roughly an hour to bring the fire under control, and an additional hour to extinguish it completely.

Personnel with the City of Mount Pearl were called to clear snow from around fire hydrants, and from near the fire itself.

There was no immediate word on if the fire would affect production at the facility. The cause of the blaze is under investigation.