Animal 0 Posté(e) le 24 février 2010 Aucun animal se trouvait à l'intérieur... Abattoir fire suspicious Posted By Don Crosby Don Crosby Sun Times correspondent A suspicious fire at an abattoir licensed to slaughter horses in Proton Station north of Dundalk is under investigation by the OPP and Ontario Fire Marshal. The Dundalk fire department responded to a call Friday morning at about 5:20 a.m. to a fire at Norval Meats on the Artemesia-Southgate Townline in Proton Station. Fire Chief John Thompson said an addition on the southeast corner of the plant was completely engulfed when firefighters arrived. "The flames were through the roof," he said. He said firefighters smashed a window in a door at the front of the main building to gain access, which triggered an alarm. Firefighters struggled to confine the stubborn blaze to the addition. Flames had crept up under the roof, which necessitated removing parts of the roof on the entire building to prevent the fire from spreading. "We spent quite a few hours yesterday peeling back the flat roof so we could control the travel of the fire," said Thompson on Saturday. The building had two layers of roofing, which compounded the problem. While the addition was severely damaged, the main building suffered some smoke and heat damage but remains structurally sound, said Thompson. "It's still in pretty good shape except for the roof." The part of the building that was most severely damaged is a steel beam structure about 400 square feet in size along with another 300 square feet of roof that had to be removed. Thompson estimates the total amount of damage at $250,000-$300,000.Advertisement "There is quite a bit of damage to the rear building. The main building is still intact but it's got some roof damage," said Thompson, who wouldn't speculate as to the cause of the fire. He described it as a big fire at the start. Grey Highlands was called to assist and responded with six to eight firefighters, a tanker and a pumper to help the Dundalk fire department. "We had one tanker on each side of the building so that we could make sure we could control what was going on," said Thompson. Thompson said he didn't see any live animals in the building. And nobody was working in the abattoir at the time of the fire. Thompson expects it to be awhile before a report will be available from the fire marshal's office on the cause of the fire. He said investigators took away some samples for forensic testing. There was a police presence on Friday and Saturday at the scene. On Sunday a private security firm hired by the insurer was on site to keep anyone from going beyond the yellow police tape. According to the Canadian Food Inspection website, which was updated on Feb.19, Norval Meats of Proton Station is a federally inspected slaughterhouse licensed to process cattle, calves and horses, although the sign on the building says it's licensed to slaugher beef, lamb and veal. Thompson said local farmers also take deer they kill during the fall hunt to the plant for processing. The horse slaughter businesses in Canada have grown by 75% since laws were passed in the United States in 2006 making it illegal to kill horses there for food, according to figures from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Southgate Mayor Don Lewis said the plant is also certified to meet the standards of processing for the sale of its products in the European Union where horse meat is sold. Anyone with information about the fire is asked to contact Grey County OPP or Crime Stoppers.http://owensoundsuntimes.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2459454 Partager ce message Lien à poster Partager sur d’autres sites
