Fire breaks out at southeast composting facility
Workers were lucky to spot smoke early on, firefighters say
A small fire broke out early Wednesday morning at Orgaworld Canada Ltd. in Gloucester, and firefighters helped staff there put it out.
Emergency crews rushed to the facility at 5123 Hawthorne Rd., where Ottawa's green bin compost is processed, at about 3:45 a.m.
Workers at the facility reported that a pile of material about 30 metres by 12 metres was smoking. The material had not yet been broken down for composting. The pile was about the size of 12 fire trucks, firefighters at the scene said.
A bulldozer was used to break up the pile and extinguish hot spots. Firefighters remained on scene to monitor the situation.
"Hot, dry conditions contributed to the issue in that the yard and leaf waste being processed is extremely dry," firefighters said in a media release. "There was no damage and no interruption to service."
Firefighters said workers were lucky to have spotted the smoke early on.
No one was injured.