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Rubber and Wood January 03, 2018 12:30:06 PM

Massive Fire Leaves Kenora Forest Products’ Two Drying Kilns at Total Loss

Paul Ploumis
ScrapMonster Author
The damages are estimated at $850,000, he added. Meantime, the company commended the efforts of firefighters in handling the blaze.

Massive Fire Leaves Kenora Forest Products’ Two Drying Kilns at Total Loss

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Kenora Forest Products-one of the largest employers of Kenora City has suffered huge financial losses as a massive fire burned a building that houses two out of the three kiln facilities. The two kilns are declared a total loss. Meantime, there were no reports of injuries.

The blaze was spotted at the sawmill facility on the evening of December 29th by an Ontario Provincial Police Officer who was passing by. The fire department was soon notified. Six pumpers attended to the fire. Crews from rural fire departments also assisted the operation. The firefighters from the Kenora Fire Department battled the blaze for several hours, effectively preventing the fire from spreading into nearby buildings. The fire was allowed to burn itself out, said Kenora fire Chief Todd Skene.

The building that housed two drying kilns was completely engulfed in flame and was declared a total loss. All six trucks were on site until around 7.30 AM Saturday, when the fire was finally declared out.

According to the company, there were only a very few staff at the time of fire. The cause of the fire is still not known and investigations are on, said the company spokesperson. The damages are estimated at $850,000, he added. Meantime, the company commended the efforts of firefighters in handling the blaze. Their timely action has helped to limit the damages, it stated.

Moreover, the company hoped that there won’t be substantial downtime on account of the fire incident. The workers were on site on Saturday itself. The third kiln will be firing and drying lumber next week, the company said. The company press release also ruled out chances of job losses or temporary layoffs as a result of the fire.

Bob Nault, Member of Parliament held discussions with the Kenora Forest Products officials and Unifor’s national representative. He assured all possible support to help the company and its employees in their rebuilding efforts.

This is the second fire incident at the facility during the previous year. Earlier in June, the company had reported a fire incident at the facility’s planner building, which had resulted in damages of around $10,000.

Founded in 1994, Kenora Forest Products operates sawmills and planning mills.

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