Fire contained

Posted December 8, 2011 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in News | No comments yet

There were no injuries Wednesday night when a small fire broke out on the upper level of a Manitou Street home.

North Central Fire Station district chief Dan Romanson said everyone got out when the blaze broke out in the post-supper hours in the north-side residence. .

“We were called to the scene shortly after seven. There was a fire on the third floor. There are two bedrooms up there. The fire was put out fairly quickly. The occupants were all evacuated when we got here and the inspector is up there now to determine how it happened and stuff like that.”

No cause for the fire is yet known, he added.

“We did have word from one of the tenants that a couple of animals were left inside, but we didn’t find anything. It was pretty straightforward and the fire was put out pretty quickly.”
 
View full post on Tbnewswatch.com – News

Ring of Fire workers walk off job

Posted June 20, 2011 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in News | No comments yet

Protesting poor wages, deteriorating work conditions and inadequate health and safety infrastructure, more than two dozen Cliffs Natural Resources workers have walked off the job in the Ring of Fire. In a release issued late Sunday night by Firedog Communications, the workers says they are taking an “indefinite stand against the Cleveland-based mining giant.” “On Thursday, June 16th, representatives from Cliffs’ management visited the Camp and offered us a package that would effectively make us all seasonal workers on the organizational chart, in exchange for EI benefits” said Ralph Baxter “This means we will become Cliffs employees with no benefits and we will make a mere $140 per day for a 14 hours day. This is less than a McDonald’s wage and is a complete insult to us and our families who are working under these extreme conditions.” Workers, who describe camp conditions as both physically and mentally intensive, are away from their families and homes for up to four weeks at a time. Baxter said while they’re not expecting luxurious surroundings, they want fair wages. “We understand that the conditions in mining camps will be basic but there is a common industry expectation that workers are compensated and paid accordingly based on the employment conditions. This is not the case here. Cliffs offers no isolation pay, inadequate travel pay, no employment benefits and offers poor bonus incentives. We are without question the poorest paid workers in the mining industry.” They’re also worried, he added, there is no safe way for helicopters to land at the camp in the evening in case of accident or illness. “We are literally putting our lives in their hands every time we board a plane to go to work and they will not respond to any requests for support or offer us better pay. The camp is being run like a dictatorship– we are not allowed to voice our opinion or provide input to make improvements but we will not put up with this treatment,” says worker Jesse Nadon. The action came in the aftermath of the resignation last week of the camp manager. Cliffs’ workers are asking all communities in Northwestern Ontario to support their protest and hold the company acccuntable. “We are taking a united stand today to ensure that this is not the precedent set for future generations of workers,” says Kevin Loder. The Ring of Fire project, located in the James Bay lowlands, is believed to be the largest chromite deposit ever found, worth up to $30 billion. Cliffs plans to develop a mine, a railway corridor and a ferrochrome processing plant, which could be built in Thunder Bay. View full post on Tbnewswatch.com – News

Old fire a likely cause

Posted June 2, 2011 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in News | No comments yet

A fire at a local mill Tuesday night was likely caused by sparks from a previous fire, a mill manager confirmed Wednesday morning. AbitibiBowater general manager Doug Murray said crews are still on scene at the mill exposing some hotspots buried by bulldozers after a fire Tuesday. Murray said crews would probably be there all day Wednesday. “It’s going to take us a little while, I wouldn’t want to hazard a guess of how long that’s going to take,” Murray said. A similar but smaller fire happened at the mill three weeks ago, started from spontaneous combustion in a bark pile. “We were digging that out,” Murray said. “Potentially last night a spark from a little hotspot maybe from the fire from three weeks ago with that huge wind last night just started to spread across the top of the pile.” If the bark pile is not packed tightly, it can start to generate internal heat that can lead to spontaneous combustion once oxygen gets in Murray said. While fires on the piles aren’t uncommon, the size of Tuesday’s fire and the smoke that blanketed parts of the city’s South side is he added. “We apologize to the city of Thunder Bay for that,” said Murray. The fire did not affect operations at the mill. Murray said more flare-ups might happen while crews expose hotspots. “Hopefully nothing will get carried away like it did last night,” he said. The mill has been burning bark to create steam since 1976. Murray said AbitibiBowater will take preventative measures to make sure the piles are packed correctly. View full post on Tbnewswatch.com – News

Woman dies in early morning house fire

Posted April 22, 2011 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in News | No comments yet

A woman is dead following an early Thursday morning fire in the city’s east end. After arriving on scene at the McPherson Street address to find the air thickly coated in dense black smoke and flames enveloping the small white and blue homes, fire officials quickly brought the blaze under control. “When we arrived on scene flames were shooting from the front window and out the doors. Fire crews slowly made their way in because of the amount of flames that were inside,” said Thunder Bay Fire Service platoon chief Val Fontaine. “The whole building was going inside. After we got the fire under control and vented the roof, we finally got in to do a secondary search.” That’s when the body of the deceased was discovered. Several dead cats were also found during the search.   “On our primary search there was so much smoke we couldn’t see very well. We felt our way around and we didn’t find anybody. After the fire was knocked down we got in again for a secondary search and that’s when we discovered the deceased,” Lafontaine told CKPR Radio early Thursday morning. Neither the identity nor the age of the victim, found under debris in the badly burned bungalow, was immediately released. “I cannot identify the victim at this time,” Lafontaine said. “The police will release that information.” Fire officials say they are investigating the cause of the fire at this time, with the scene being turned over to the office of the fire marshall. “We have no indication at this time as to what caused the fire. We do know there were smoke detectors in the building because we installed them. But as to the cause, fire prevention and the Ontario Fire Marshall’s Office will attend and try to determine that,” Lafontaine said. Police, who have surrounded the house in yellow police tape, and fire officials remain on scene on Thursday morning. View full post on Tbnewswatch.com – News

Fire claims life

Posted January 14, 2011 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in News | 1 comment

One man is dead after an apartment fire late Wednesday evening on South Cumberland Street. “The fire was reported by a neighbour at approximately 11:30 last night,” said Rolf Waffler, fire investigator with the Ontario Fire Marshall’s Office. “We’ve had a very small fire that was contained to the unit of origin at this apartment complex. One man has been taken to hospital deceased.” The identity of the man won’t be released until next of kin is notified, but he is believed to be the tenant of the apartment unit; the post-mortem is scheduled for this afternoon to determine cause of death. Waffler said the cause of the fire won’t be released until the investigation is complete. However, a news release from the Thunder Bay Fire Service said the fire “seems to have been caused by careless smoking.” The fire originated in the living room of the apartment unit and the damage was minimal, said Waffler. The investigation is ongoing.   View full post on Tbnewswatch.com – News

Ring of Fire concerns

Posted January 6, 2011 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in News | No comments yet

Thunder Bay’s mayor says he’s worried the Minister of Northern Development and Mines isn’t fighting hard enough for the Thunder Bay riding he represents.   Mayor Keith Hobbs reacted to comments made by MPP Michael Gravelle (Lib., Thunder Bay – Superior North) on Tuesday. The MPP, who also serves as Ontario’s minister of northern development, mines and forestry, suggested during an interview with local media that he would be happy to see all of Northern Ontario benefit from Ring of Fire activity.   “While I can take my hat off and speak as the MPP for Thunder Bay – Superior North, and would be delighted indeed if that location (for the processing facility) was in my riding, I think what’s most important ultimately is that we see the benefits come to all parts of Northern Ontario,” Gravelle said. As for the location of a possible Ontario-based refinery for the Ring of Fire, Gravelle said “there are some locations that simply make more sense than others related to the availability of infrastructure that’s in place.”   Hobbs fired back during an interview with local media on Thursday, telling reporters that Gravelle needs to think of his riding before other parts of the province.   “Mr. Gravelle is hinting that the Ring of Fire process centre won’t be in Thunder Bay,” Hobb said. “This concerns me as the mayor of Thunder Bay.   “He is the minster of northern development and mines, but more importantly he’s the MPP for the Thunder Bay area, and not for Sault Ste. Marie or Timmins. So he needs to fight hard to have that processor here so I’m going to put him on the spot.” He added that he believes the First Nations shareholders are being ignored somewhat and that those communities should have a say as to where a refinery for the Ring of Fire should be situated.     “I definitely want that processor in Thunder Bay. It was part of my campaign and something I will fight to get here.”   While Hobbs said it makes sense to have a processing plant in Thunder Bay because the city needs jobs and is strategically located on Lake Superior, other communities may argue that existing infrastructure is also an important factor.   Timmins, for example, is the home of the now closed Xstrata Kidd Metallurgical Site, which put some 670 employees out of work when the company decided to refine its product at a smelter site it owned in Quebec.   Gravelle was unavailable to provide comment on Hobb’s statements Thursday afternoon, but a news conference is now scheduled for Friday morning in Thunder Bay. View full post on Tbnewswatch.com – News

Apartment building owner fined for fire code violations

Posted October 20, 2010 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in Thunder Bay News | No comments yet

The owner of an apartment building on the city’s north side has been fined $16,000 after being found in violation of several Ontario Fire Code infractions. The charges were laid in connection with the three-unit building at 285 Park Avenue, after a Thunder Bay Fire Department inspector’s investigation last year. The case stemmed from a smoke alarm complaint that turned up other infractions. View full post on Tbnewswatch.com – News

Man on fire

Posted September 20, 2010 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in Thunder Bay News | No comments yet

A man is in hospital after being set on fire on the city’s south end Friday afternoon. Fire and police were on scene at the provincial courthouse on Arthur Street around 3:30 p.m. after receiving a call that a man was on fire. Fire officials told reporters that the fire was extinguished by bystanders before crews arrived on the scene. Officers with the Thunder Bay Police Service who were on scene couldn’t immediately say whether the fire was self inflicted, but confirmed they were treating the courthouse parking lot as a crime scene. Later that day Police confirmed that they did not suspect foul play. Ash and what appeared to be articles of clothing were visible in t he parking lot shortly after the incident. The man was taken to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, but his injuries are unknown. Few other details are known at this time. View full post on Tbnewswatch.com – News

Fast food fire

Posted July 26, 2010 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in Thunder Bay News | No comments yet

Customers of a fast food restaurant forced to flee because of a backroom fire say they are shaken and upset, but cannot remember hearing a fire alarm going off. Firefighters responded to a fire in the McDonald’s restaurant on Memorial Avenue around 3 p.m. Monday. Staff and patrons vacated the restaurant and stood back as fire crews entered the smoke filled building. Melanie Gottfred, a frequent customer of the restaurant, had gone to the McDonald’s with her five-year-old and eight-year-old daughters just before the fire started. She said she believes there was not enough communication between staff and the customers and she didn’t hear any alarms. “My daughters were in the play place sitting by themselves,” Gottfred said. “I heard (there was a fire) so I ran in there and told them we needed to leave. There wasn’t much communication to the customers. There was no alarm. We don’t know where the fire alarms were but we didn’t hear them.” A grandmother, who refused to give her name to tbnewswatch.com, told reporters that she had visited the restaurant with her three grandchildren and said she was upset. The grandmother said it was Gottfred who had instructed her to leave the building. “She came and said you have to vacate there is a fire and then she helped me out with my three (grandchildren),” she said. “I don’t know how I would have done it so quickly otherwise.” With all the commotion outside, one customer wandered into the restaurant while firefighters were still working in the back. Police rushed in after him and brought him back outside without incident. John Mill, platoon chief with the Vickers Street Fire Station, said he wouldn’t know the cause of the fire until they conducted an investigation. The fire started at the back of the restaurant in a storage area and then spread to a freezer inside of the building. There were no injuries reported as a result of the blaze. “When our guys pulled up, there was huge clouds of black smoke,” Mill said. “Fortunately, it was confined to the back of the building.” Mill said the size of the fire should have set off the fire alarms but didn’t know for sure if they had gone off. The investigation would eventually determine if the alarms had been set off, he said. Richard Blake, manager of the Red River Road McDonald’s restaurant, came down to look at the damage and what happened. The standard procedure for a fire is to get the customers out safety and then make sure all staff members are out of the building, he said. “I talked to the staff and I know they went around and getting people to leave the restaurant,” Blake said. “I know they mentioned some people were drinking coffee and I don’t think they believed them at the time. But we got everyone out safely and that’s really key to me.” The manager said he assumed the restaurant would be closed, but wasn’t sure for how long. View full post on Tbnewswatch.com – News