Industrial fire keeps people inside in Port Colborne

Dozens of firefighters battled a large industrial blaze in southwestern Ontario on Tuesday, drilling through the ice of a nearby canal at one point to get enough water to fight the flames, local authorities said.

The fire in Port Colborne — in which authorities said no one was injured — broke out at a facility that manufactured vinyl products and sent plumes of thick black smoke into the sky that were seen by residents across the border in the United States, about 30 kilometres away.

The local fire department advised residents to stay inside with their windows and doors closed as the Environment Ministry conducted air-quality testing. It noted, however, that tests of three locations by Tuesday afternoon reported the air quality as safe, and children were being released from schools as a result.

The blaze at Vinyl Works Canada was reported around 7:40 a.m. by workers who had arrived to open up the building, the fire department said. Seven workers were in the facility at the time and left safety, authorities said.

“The flames were going up the wall, coming out of the roof. It was really involved. It had a good head start before we got here,” Deputy Fire Chief Mike Bendia told reporters, noting that the fire caused the structure to collapse.

Water to fight the blaze was brought in by neighbouring fire departments for hours until crews were able to drill through the ice that covered the nearby Welland Canal, he said.

There were concerns about the smoke from the fire leaching toxic chemicals into the air, Bendia said, but crews fighting the flames took precautions.

By about 2 p.m., crews had mostly fought the fire back, Bendia said, and they were preparing to bring heavy equipment into the wreckage to stamp out the rest of the flames.

“I estimate we will probably still be here tomorrow afternoon at this time,” he said.