An evacuation order in an east London neighbourhood has been lifted, following an intensely stubborn blaze at an auto shop on Childers St near Brydges.
Fire crews say Actions Auto Repair at 30 Childers St. essentially imploded on itself as workers with heavy machinery helped to bring its charred remains down Wednesday afternoon.
Officials ordered an evacuation of the immediate area prior to the operation over concerns harmful chemicals from inside the shop might be released during the building take-down.
Officials with the Ministry of the Environment monitored the air quality throughout the evacuation and Public Information Coordinator Rick Jefferson says pollutants were only found in trace amounts and were not at levels to be concerned about.
“There was never anything found that was a threat to the immediate area or residents, but because of the nature of the fire they thought it would be very prudent to have an evacuation of the immediate area just to make sure,” Jefferson says.
The evacuation order was lifted just before 6 p.m.
Fire fighters were initially called to the auto shop around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday after flames broke out in the garage. Jefferson says a vehicle was up on a hoist when fuel leaked out of a fuel pump and landed on the running engine. It ignited and the fire quickly spread throughout the shop.
Workers in the garage made it out safely, but three vehicles were caught in the flames including a tow truck.
Thick black smoke billowed out of broken windows and doors as fire fighters poured water into the shop while the smell of burning rubber and other auto fluids hung heavy in the air.When fire crews arrived on scene, Jefferson says the garage was heavily involved and fire fighters took a defensive approach, staying out of the building.
Those items, Jefferson says, literally added fuel to the flames already raging inside the building.
The back of the building collapsed early in the afternoon and officials made the call to bring the rest of the structure down.
But Jefferson says the demolition also had another affect.
“(It fed) air to the fire that still exists in there. So we still have a considerable fire going,” Jefferson says. “The fire fighters are on top of it though and we’re not sure exactly how long it’ll take to put it out, it could still be hours, but at this point we’re optimistic that it won’t be a problem.”
Fire crews and the officials with the Ministry of the Environment also worked to contain liquid run-off from the auto shop. Clumps of oil and rainbow coloured ponds of water containing auto fluids pooled on the street. Crews set up dams and mats to catch the liquids and also turned off the sewers on the street to keep the polluted water from entering the city system.
Emergency personnel also had to act quickly to keep two trailers next to the auto shop from igniting. Each was carrying spray foam insulation, that despite claiming to be a fire retardant, was actually at a risk of lighting up, according to Jefferson.
Fire crews were able to clear a path, hitch the trailers to a pick-up truck and then pull them to safety one by one.
Damage is estimated to be in the area of $500,000.
Source: Fire Guts Auto Shop, Prompts Demolition And Neighbourhood Evacuation | (CFPL AM) AM 980
