A massive industrial fire in Port Colborne is now under control.
Deputy Fire Chief Mike Bendia says there were no injuries, but the blaze has destroyed a building used to manufacture vinyl patio furniture.
Firefighters were called to the Vinyl Works Canada facility on Barber drive at 7:39 a.m.
Port Colborne residents were urged to stay in their homes for several hours, but Bendia confirms air quality has come back as “acceptable” following ground level testing at multiple locations.
He added that they’ve also ensured that nothing got into the nearby Welland Canal using “big ditches and berms that we’ve created.”
Bendia stressed that any firefighters within the hot zone were wearing a self-containing breathing apparatus and full protective equipment.
He expects crews to remain on scene until Wednesday, noting that the next step is to “pull the building apart and get at all the hot spots.”
There’s no word yet on the cause of the fire.
Crews from at least half a dozen Niagara communities helped battle the flames.
The smoke, at the height of the fire, could be seen as far away as Buffalo.