Face of Nation : A “significant” fire at a flower farm in St. Catharines, Ont., has been contained, but residents in a large area northwest of the massive greenhouse operation are being asked to stay inside, an official says.
No one was injured in the blaze at Pioneer Flower Farms that began late on Friday night, although flames spread to and destroyed about four or five residential buildings that housed migrant workers, according to Jeff McCormick, acting fire chief for St. Catharines Fire and Emergency Management Services.
Smoke, however, remained a concern. Officials from Ontario’s ministry of the environment were on the scene Saturday, and a spokesperson said they have been collecting air samples for analysis.
“Preliminary downwind air monitoring results are below emergency screening values,” Andrew Buttigieg said in an email. “Local watersheds have been sampled and monitored. Early results show dissolved oxygen and pH readings being good.” Buttigieg said the city is collecting douse water which is being trucked to Port Dalhousie sewage treatment plant as a precaution.
The fire was in a structure that is a series of greenhouses and outbuildings and about 650,000 to 700,000 square feet in total. “It’s a significant-sized fire,” McCormick said. “Probably, this would be the most significant fire that I have had of my 33-year career.”
The fire also spread across the grass and caused a “significant” bush fire, the city of St. Catharines said in a release. Firefighters were called to the farm shortly after 11 p.m., and crews from five departments were able to contain the blaze after several hours of effort.
As many as 125 firefighters were battling the blaze at its peak, McCormick said. “It was like a bomb went off,” said Bill Van Vliet, a neighbour who saw the blaze around 2 a.m. There were flames shooting in the air and “fire tornados,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Van Vliet. “The whole area was just lit. It was really eerie.” Many people from the area, including neighbours, went to the farm to help. At one point, they set up an irrigation pipeline to bring water to one part of the fire.
