The effects of a massive industrial fire in Etobicoke on Friday are still being felt by the local wildlife population.
A fire broke out around 1 a.m. at a north Etobicoke facility that stores petroleum-based fluids and chemicals. The blaze was out of control for much of Friday morning and eventually tamed by the afternoon.
The problems, however, did not end when the fire was put out.
A local Toronto wildlife charity said it has been working tirelessly since the fire to capture and clean more than 20 birds that have been coated in a chemical substance from the fire.
Chemicals from the site, which firefighters said is a factory or business that contains thousands of litres of motor oil and transmission fuel as well as solvents, leaked into Mimico Creek.
Nathalie Karvonen, the executive director of the Toronto Wildlife Centre, told Global News her team had rescued many animals from the area and taken them to their hospital to be cleaned.
“So far, we’ve got 23 oiled ducks that have been admitted to our hospital,” she said. “And I understand that they’re in the middle of trying to catch more.”
The thick chemical sludge on parts of the creek is a risk to other wildlife in the area, Karvonen said. Muskrats, beavers and turtles could all be suffering from the chemical concoction.
The oil poses a particular threat to birds because it damages their waterproofing, which can lead to hypothermia, even in the summer, according to Karvonen.
“The animals that are not found, say if they don’t feel well and they just crawl under a bush somewhere… their chances are not very good at survival,” she said, asking anyone who sees an animal affected by the chemicals to call the Toronto Wildlife Centre.
“That’s why the more animals we can find, and the faster we can find them, the better.”
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