THUNDER BAY – The destruction caused by a blaze at the former Great West Timber property is making it difficult for investigators to determine how the fire started.
Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal investigator Tim Irish said he has identified an area of interest within the structure, which caught fire Wednesday night, but added it will be difficult.
He described the state of the ruins as an “extreme hazard” after the idle sawmill collapsed on itself with twisted and misshaped metal support beams that are unstable.
“It’s going to be extremely difficult to access. To get to that area is going to take an inordinate amount of time at this point,” he said at the scene on Friday.
“In order to process the scene and go through the delayering process of the fire scene it’s going to take heavy demolition equipment. It’s going to be a very long and difficult process for us to do that.”
He said the area of interest is as large as 10,000 square feet, which he said is an “overwhelming task.”
While there aren’t any flames visible at the site, it is still dangerous.
“The site itself is still smouldering and has smoke and it’s offgassing from the fire event,” Irish said. “It’s unsafe for any person to enter at this time.”
Irish has utilized photos of the spectacular blaze shared through social media as many people went down to the waterfront to watch as visual evidence to determine how the fire spread and grew.
Thunder Bay Fire Rescue fire prevention officers are also on the scene helping to assist with the investigation.
On the night of the fire, 27 firefighters, six pumpers and two aerial ladder trucks were deployed to battle the blaze.
Great West Timber, through Buchanan, filed for bankruptcy protection four years ago, listing debts of $31 million and assets of just $8 million. When it closed the company employed 175 workers.
