A fire that broke early Wednesday morning on a barge on the Fraser River is being considered suspicious, according to firefighters.

Crews from two fire departments were dispatched to battle the stubborn blaze, which erupted around 3 a.m. on a floating bunkhouse moored in Mission.

The cause hasn't been determined, but Asst. Chief Blaine Odenbach of the Mission Fire Rescue Service said there has been suspicious activity at the vessel recently.

"There were people in and around this boat trying to steal wire off of it. That's our understanding at this time," Odenbach said.

The barge was previously used to house mining and forestry workers in remote areas, but had been seized by the province and was slated for demolition.

Firefighters from Mission and Maple Ridge worked to extinguish the fire for several hours Wednesday, but the vessel remained smouldering by the afternoon. Odenbach said crews had to be careful with how much water they sprayed onto the vessel because sinking it would result in additional environmental concerns.

"If we fill it up with water, we run the risk of the barge sinking and then that would be a bit of an issue," he said.

Crews faced a number of challenges putting the flames out, most notably the lack of any fire hydrants in the area. They were forced to transport water to the scene on pump trucks, causing some traffic disruptions on the Lougheed Highway.

"We had two water bladders and five tankers shuttling water back and forth the entire time," Odenbach said.

There's also a busy rail crossing in the area, and some pump trucks were caught waiting for trains to pass.

Given the circumstances, the timeline for the demolition of the barge has been moved up. A demolition team is expected to arrive on scene Wednesday.  

With files from CTV Vancouver's Sheila Scott