Electrical system sparked $3M inferno
A catastrophic failure of the electrical system inside Vinyl Works Canada has been determined as cause the fire that destroyed the Barber Drive plant in Port Colborne Tuesday morning, for which damage now tops $3 million.
In a news release late Thursday afternoon, Port Colborne Fire and Emergency Services Deputy Chief Mike Bendia said Manny Garcia, supervisor of the Ontario Office of the Fire Marshal’s fire investigative services, Niagara Regional Police and Port Colborne fire prevention officer Scott Lawson determined the fire was accidental in nature.
He said the origin of the fire was located in the structure’s southwest quadrant, an area of heavy fire-involvement when firefighters first arrived on scene at 7:39 a.m. Tuesday.
Bendia set the damage value Thursday at more than $3 million, up from a $1-million estimate on Wednesday.
Thursday morning, Port Colborne firefighters were called back to the Vinyl Works Canada site to put out hotspots in the wreckage of the plant at Ramey’s Bend.
Bendia said hotspots flaring up are not uncommon in fires the magnitude of Tuesday morning ’s blaze.
The fire at Vinyl Works — the company makes patio furniture, above-ground pool and spa accessories — was noticed by employees who were opening up the shop for the day. All seven employees safely escaped the fire without injury.
Port Colborne firefighters started a defensive attack almost right away. The heavy fire conditions cause a partial building collapse just 10 minutes into fighting the fire, making firefighters move their operations back farther from the building on the east bank of the Welland Canal.
As the fire progressed throughout the structure, from south to north, walls on both sides started to collapse and the whole building was down on the ground within 40 minutes of the call, making it more difficult to battle the blaze.
More than 50 firefighters with tankers and pumpers from across Niagara responded to the blaze after Port Colborne called on mutual aid to battle the inferno at 2174 Barber Dr.
Welland Fire and Emergency Services, Fort Erie Fire Department, Wainfleet Fire and Emergency Services, Thorold Fire and Emergency Services, Pelham Fire Services, and Niagara Falls Fire Department all sent manpower, tankers and pumpers to the scene. There were also numerous fire chiefs and deputy fire chiefs on scene, as well as regional fire coordinator Bob Lymburner, chief of Pelham’s fire service.
Bendia and firefighters from Port Colborne and Welland were on scene until 5:30 a.m. Wednesday putting the blaze out and extinguishing hotspots.
Thursday, he said air quality testing conducted by the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change returned within acceptable limits, and that residents in the area could go back to enjoying their usual outdoor activities.
The smoke plume from the fire, which showed up on weather radar, had stretched east toward Stevensville on Tuesday and the ministry had conducted air monitoring throughout the day. As the wind shifted overnight, what smoke there was left from the fire drifted over the city’s west side and the ministry continued to monitor. dajohnson@postmedia.com twitter.com/DaveJTheTrib