The owner of Osoyoos adventure company Loco Amigos thanked firefighters and the community after his shop was gutted by fire on Friday.

鈥淚 just wanted to thank the effort, courage and strength all the emergency workers showed in fighting the fire yesterday. I鈥檓 just sick over the damage to my neighbours鈥� buildings, they are such great people,鈥� said owner Ted Brooks on the Loco Amigos Facebook page.

鈥淚 want to apologize to all the towns people for the water issues this has caused. I always want to thank my friends that did the best they could to help in every way possible. I love this little town and I鈥檒l get things cleaned up as soon as possible.鈥�

Fire broke out at Loco Amigos on Friday afternoon, March 1. Flames quickly spread, engulfing the colourful adventure and tattoo business at 8521 Main Street.

One picture Brooks shared shows at least one motorcycle inside the shop- one of his 鈥榖abies鈥� - appeared to have survived the fire.

Osoyoos Fire had to call in Oliver and Anarchist Mountain fire departments to help and also prevent as much damage to neighbouring businesses. Sharing walls with Loco Amigos is Hem Z Old Skool Cafe to the west and Unity Clothing on the other side to the east.

The full damage to those buildings is not known at this time.

Osoyoos Fire also took to its Facebook page to thank neighbouring fire departments and its own volunteer firefighters for all their efforts that day, saying 鈥榯hey are so proud to call this community home.鈥�

鈥淭oday鈥檚 fire had major impacts to those affected. Our firefighters did everything imaginable to limit the loss to surrounding structures. We would like to thank Anarchist Mountain Fire Department and Oliver Fire Department for providing additional assistance. The Town of Osoyoos staff also worked tirelessly to provide support when we needed it the most,鈥� said Osoyoos Fire.

鈥淭he training, drive and dedication of our paid-on-call volunteer firefighters needs to be recognized. They tear themselves away from their private lives to protect yours and today they sacrificed their personal health, safety to make the chaos better.鈥�

The Town of Osoyoos has issued a water quality advisory for residents due to the fire鈥檚 impact on the water system. Until the town says otherwise, people should boil their water for one minute before using or using alternative sources of water.