A large ball of fire towers above the silos of this barn fire on Highbury Ave. north of St. Thomas, Ontario between Thomson Line and Glanworth Drive Wednesday afternoon December 7, 2011. Central Elgin Fire Department assisted at the scene with tanker-trucks from Yarmouth Station and Belmont Station to compliment London Fire Department’s ten trucks including two arial units. The barn was being used mainly for storage. No further details were available at press time. (ROBERT CHAULK, QMI Agency)
Barn fire created smoke that was thought to be toxic, but testing revealed no changes to air quality.
Emergency workers blocked off a section of Highbury Ave. on the outskirts of London Wednesday after a barn fire created a giant plume of toxic smoke that was visible kilometres away.
Two barns were fully engulfed when firefighters arrived at a farm on Highbury near Glanworth Dr. about 3 p.m.
More than two dozen London firefighters, assisted by volunteer firefighters from Central Elgin, used hoses and an aerial ladder to douse flames shooting more than 10 metres into the air.
But it was the smoke, not the flames, that had firefighters most concerned.
The form insulation used to coat the barn created a black smoke that firefighters thought could be toxic, deputy fire chief Brian George said.
Members of the hazardous-materials unit were called in to test the air near the fire to ensure it was safe.
“We weren’t able to find any changes to the air quality in the area,” George said.
Firefighters, meanwhile, worked to keep the flames from reaching two homes and several large fuel-storage tanks on the property.
“The houses were not touched, neither were the propane tanks,” George said.
Both barns were badly damaged.
Bill Richardson, whose father owns the farm, said the buildings were used for storage.
“It was just full of old hog equipment,” he said.
Damage is unknown. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
There were no injuries.
via London Free Press
