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Oily run-off spilled into an Ottawa creek during an industrial fire at a recycling plant over the weekend.
The Ontario Ministry of the Environment took water samples from Green’s Creek Monday, following the Saturday morning fire at Baker Brothers Iron and Metal Plant in the city’s east end. The plant is on Sheffield Road south of Innes Road, just west of Highway 417. Ministry officials are testing the water to see what kind of impact the run-off would have on the waterway.
Marc Messier, spokesman for Ottawa Fire Services, said firefighters received a call around 9:30 a.m. about a burning pile of cars three-storeys high and roughly the area of a standard baseball infield.
The smoke was very toxic due to the burning seats, dashboards and tires, so firefighters had to wear gas masks and keep their distance. In addition, cars have many cylindrical parts like pistons, Messier said.
“When they’re exposed to extreme heat, they have a tendency of exploding so you have projectiles flying everywhere,” he said.
Some of the oily runoff spilled into Green’s Creek during the beginning of firefighting operations.Some of the oily runoff spilled into Green’s Creek during the beginning of firefighting operations. (Jeff Semple/CBC)About 46 firefighers and 16 trucks worked for 12 hours to extinguish the blaze.
Steve Burns, district manager in Ottawa for the Ministry of the Environment, said when firefighters first started trying to douse the flames, some of the oily water draining from the site would have entered the creek.
On Monday, traces of oily water remained in the waterway, but Burns believes there is no risk it will contaminate municipal drinking water.
Burns arrived shortly after firefighters on Saturday to ensure Baker Brothers properly secured the site.
Richard Roth, operations manager for Baker Brothers, said he hired a local drainage company to contain the oily run-off with booms.
On Monday, trucks with hoses were vacuuming up the remaining water from the site and carting it to a secure location equipped to handle hazardous liquids.