Friday marks 15th Anniversary of Rosenau Transport explosion in Fort St. John

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — It has been 15 years today since Fort St. John experienced a major fire break out at the Rosenau Transport and Unified Valve building on the Alaska Highway.

Just before 7:30 p.m. Sunday August 16th, 2009, the fire broke out and forced the evacuation of over 130 homes in Peace Country Trailer Park.

The fire engulfed the building and was not put out until the following Monday at 4:30 a.m. 

Temperatures of over 2,000 degrees fahrenheit caused 140 barrels of volatile methanol and acid based chemicals to explode, sending fireballs shooting up to 500 feet in the air.

Despite firefighters efforts, the blaze started burning corrosive and toxic materials in the warehouse. 

No one was injured but the warehouse was ultimately destroyed and caused over one million dollars in damages. 

The explosion was featured on the Discovery Channel show Destroyed in Seconds. To view the segment from the show, look below.