Fire engulfs recycling plant in Beauharnois

WATCH ABOVE: Raw footage from the fire at the Kruger plant in Beauharnois

MONTREAL – Firefighters were called early Thursday morning to a major fire at the Kruger paper recycling plant in Beauharnois.

The plant was completely engulfed in flames. Firefighters say they’re bracing for what may be a 48-hour battle with the flames.

“You have to reach under the roof to put out the fire,” said Richard Parras, of the Chateauguay Fire Dept. “It takes time.”

More than 120 firefighters from eight different municipalities have been fighting the flames since midnight.

Water pressure was low as firefighters battled the blaze, so they drilled through five feet of ice and put three water pumps in a nearby river.

“It was kind of tight for a while,” Parras said.

Parras said that pallets that were in the northwest corner of the plant, near the river, ignited around midnight Thursday. Heavy winds fanned the flames afterward, he said.

The smoke was so thick, it could be seen from several kilometres away.

Officials estimate it may take two days for the flames to subside.

Beauharnois deputy mayor Gaetan Dagenais told Global News about 5-6 people were employed at the plant.

He said the town was lucky to have averted disaster – there were several tanker cars parked on the railroad across the street from the fire but they were empty when it occurred.

“We were worried about the tanker cars,” he said. “We were fortunate.”

He added that the fire caused little environmental impact.

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The plant isn’t near any residential areas, so there were no evacuations.

De Melocheville boulevard near Route 132 between Route 236 and Chemin St. Louis is closed.

The cause of the fire remains unknown. A Kruger spokesperson wrote Global News to say that it was still evaluating the full impact of the disaster.

There were no injuries.