Huge blaze rips through business on Lottridge

Spec photo

The Ontario Fire Marshall has confirmed arson as the key motive in a massive fire at a Recyling Service on Lottridge Street. The fire, spawned several alarms and sent some 100 fire fighters to the sight.

The fire had started shortly before 1 a.m. Saturday among about 1,000 empty plastic rain barrels and about 40 storage containers filled with old computer parts -- all stored behind the building, which backs on to CN rail tracks that bisect the neighbourhood bounded by Barton and Burlington streets and Gage and Sherman avenues.

The fire quickly moved up the wall and onto the roof of the sprawling 250,000 square-foot complex, which is vacant except for the recycling business -- called simply Recycling Service -- which occupies about 10,000 square feet. Several hours into the fire, the roof over the recycling business collapsed, igniting other computer parts stored inside. Though the fire had been contained to that area by yesterday afternoon, the fallen debris was making it hard to put out.

Samples of the smoke plume taken by the provincial environment ministry's mobile testing facility found no dangerous levels of styrene, toluene or xylene -- chemicals that would commonly be associated with such a fire. Hopefully quelling rumours of another Plastimet like catastrophe. In 1997, a warehouse filled with bales of scrap plastic -- just two kilometres west of yesterday's fire -- burned for four days, creating an environmental disaster and leaving a tragic medical legacy that would later be linked to the cancer death of Hamilton firefighter Bob Shaw.

Preliminary damage estimates are in the range of a quarter million dollars. The Fire Marshall says he'll wrap up his investigation some time later today and turn the building back over to the owner.

Video of the fire from the Hamilton Spectator

Slideshow of the fire from the Hamilton Spectator

Later,
Kenaz