As crews continue to battle a fire at a rubber plant in Brantford, Ont., a public notice has been issued for nearby residents to “keep windows and doors shut and HVAC systems off.”
Plumes of smoke filled the sky Tuesday night into Wednesday afternoon, with officials expecting crews to remain on the scene at North West Rubber Ltd. on Henry Street for several days.
The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) attended the site overnight, and an air monitoring unit has been assembled and dispatched to the scene, according to the City of Brantford.
“Those with respiratory issues should avoid the area. The MECP will continue to monitor air quality in residential, commercial and industrial areas around the fire plume area. The Brant County Health Unit has also been engaged and will be working with the MECP to provide any public alerts if necessary,” the city said.
Brantford Fire Department confirmed to CTV News they were called to the scene of a fire at North West Rubber Ltd. on Henry Street around 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
On Tuesday night, Brantford Fire dispatch said the entire fire department -- four aerial trucks and five pumpers -- was called to the scene. Fire crews from Brant County were also called in to help.
‘LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF LORD OF THE RINGS’
Steven Kollatos witnessed the fire and said it looked like a scene straight out of a movie.
"It looked like something out of Lord of the Rings. It looked like Mount Doom, just glowing and smoke," he said. "From over 500 feet away you could still feel the heat coming off it.
"There was at least 50 feet of flames shooting sideways and it was spiraling with the smoke."
Another witness, Mike Milks, said at one point the smoke was so thick and heavy he had a hard time breathing.
“You could really see the fire from the distance and getting closer and closer, the black thick smoke was barreling right over top,” said Milks.
“It was unbearable you could feel it. It was so thick and when I got home I was coughing," said Milks.
On Tuesday, both police and fire say there were no injuries, but employees were present at the time of the fire.
"Right now the extent of the damage appears to be in the yards outside of the building, but that's all I know at the time," said deputy fire chief Scott Pipe.
“We’re taking apart the piles and putting foam on the product and fire and putting as much water on the fire as we can to cool it down and stop it from progressing.”
On Tuesday night, Brantford fire added that they weren't at the stage to investigate the cause yet.
Pipe said once the fire is under control an investigation can begin.
“We’re still in the operation stage actively engaged in the fire, so I don’t know how long that would take, whether that will be hours or days at this stage," said Pipe. "Right now the extent of the damage appears to be in the yards outside of the building, but that's all I know at the time."
Brantford fire added that it was not known how long they would be on scene. As of late Wednesday night, crews were still at the fire, over 24 hours after it began.
On Twitter, the police service said traffic in the area of Henry Street and Middleton Street was being rerouted.
“The public are asked to avoid the area and take alternate routes until further notice,” Brantford police said in the tweet.
SECOND FIRE AT FACTORY IN THREE YEARS
In 2019, a fire broke out at the same facility near rubber mats on skids sitting in the storage yard. The Ministry of the Environment did air quality tests and did not believe there would be any health impacts to the public from short-term exposure.
According to their website, Northwest Rubber manufactures rubber flooring made from recycled rubber tire.
The Brantford facility opened back in 2010, but the company has been around since 1968.
