MONTREAL - The roof of a recycling plant collapsed in Montreal yesterday, sparking a major fire that spewed black smoke over the neighbourhood.
No one was hurt, and firefighters said it was too early to speculate whether the collapse was caused by the weight of snow. But this has become a major concern after several buildings collapsed in recent weeks, and four people died in such incidents last week.
More than 100 firefighters fought to extinguish the stubborn, spectacular blaze that ripped though the sprawling cardboard and paper recycling plant.
The five-alarm fire began after a section of the roof at Econord Gestion Environnement collapsed just before noon and quickly spread through the industrial building that stretches for three city blocks.
"It appears that mercury lights in a storage room where cardboard and papers were piled may have started the fire after the roof fell in," said Aime Charette, chief of operations for the Montreal Fire Department.
It is not known what caused a 15-by-30-metre section of the roof to cave in.
It is believed, however, that heavy snow, made even heavier by yesterday's rain, might have caused the accident.
Three women died last Wednesday in Morin Heights, Que., north of Montreal, when the roof of a food warehouse buckled, and on Sunday, a man in St.-Gerard-des-Laurentides, Que., died when the roof of his house fell in.
As well, the Commission scolaire de Montreal closed all its schools for several days for a complete snow inspection.
Albert Lymburner, an Econord recycling plant operator, had completed his shift and had returned to his home several blocks away from the depot when he saw thick black clouds of smoke swirling around the building.
"I wasn't too worried," he said.
"The fire wasn't in the part of the building where I work; it was at the other end of the depot. We had good evacuation drills, so everybody got out alive," he said. "I'm not sure, though, whether I still have a job to go to. Maybe it's time for me to take a holiday."
Mr. Lymburner said 40 to 50 employees are in the building at any given time.
The fire department said about 15 or 20 employees were in the wing where the roof collapsed and "we got all the people out safely."
Recyclable plastics also were burned in the fire, but environment officials at the scene said there was little danger of significant pollution because 98% of the material burning was paper.
At one point, there was some anxiety because firefighters could not reach several tanks of acetylene and propane gas that were stored in one section of the burning building.
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