No injuries as third fire this month ignites at Domtar's Kamloops pulp mill



No injuries as third fire this month ignites at Domtar's Kamloops pulp mill | Domtar, fire, mill, Canada,

KAMLOOPS, B.C. (From Kamloops This Week) -- Kamloops Fire Rescue crews were called to Domtar pulp mill for the second time in 25 hours for report of a small industrial fire.

Platoon Capt. Jeff Bell said the call came in at about 2:20 a.m. on Thursday for a small fire in the steam plant area. Crews were on scene for more than three hours.

"It was in an awkward area," Bell said. "It was in a wall between two steel panels, in the insulation or debris inside the wall."


Firefighters have responded to three fires at the Mission Flats Road mill this month, on Jan. 4, Jan. 17 and Jan. 19

Investigators have determined the Jan. 4 fire at 8:45 p.m. started when welding sparks were thrown farther by an industrial heater at a wall. Some wood fibre was present in the steel-clad walls and caught fire.

The Jan. 17 fire, which began at about 9 p.m., is believed to have started when oil from a line sprayed on a hot steam pipe, causing ignition. Surrounding insulation subsequently caught fire. There was minimal damage and no injuries as a result of the blazes.

"We've had nothing for years [at Domtar] and had three in two weeks," Bell said.

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