Confinement order lifted in Trois-Rivières following fire in chemical warehouse

A confinement notice issued on Wednesday in Trois-Rivières, Que., following a fire in a chemical warehouse in the city was lifted early Thursday.

Some 2,000 households in the Trois-Rivières-Ouest sector had been advised to stay inside their homes with the doors and windows closed. The notice was then extended to citizens of the bordering sectors of Trois-Rivières and Cap-de-la-Madeleine.

The regional public health authority in Trois-Rivières said sulphur dioxide — which emanated from the blaze — can cause temporary irritation of the eyes and respiratory tract when inhaled in low doses.

People who have any concerns about their health can contact the 811 helpline.

Local authorities are also encouraging residents who haven’t done so to register online for the city’s automated phone service, which allows for the communication of important information, especially during emergencies.

The fire broke out around 2:10 p.m. on Wednesday in “several containers” of Somavrac group’s premises on Saint-Joseph Street, in the Trois-Rivières-Ouest sector where sodium hydrosulphite, a pulp and paper bleaching agent, is stored.

The fire involved 3,600 kilos of the product, according to the Ministry of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change on Wednesday evening.

Urgence-Environnement teams were dispatched to the scene Wednesday as well as air quality specialists from the Centre d’expertise en analyse environnementale du Québec, whose mandate is to measure air quality.

On its website, the Somavrac group indicates that it specializes in the stowage, storage, handling and processing, transport and distribution of chemicals for various industries.

According to the CNESST, the workers’ safety board, sodium hydrosulphite is a self-heating material that can ignite. In contact with water, it releases toxic gases if inhaled. It can cause eye irritation.

— With files from Global’s Annabelle Olivier