Main artery in North Bay reopened after trailer fire
A main thoroughfare in North Bay reopened nearly 24 hours after a vehicle fire early Wednesday morning.
Fire officials said a large transport truck carrying 4,000 pounds of hazardous chemicals caught on fire in North Bay around 2:30 a.m. May 31. The cleanup was complete and road reopened around 2 a.m. June 1.
Algonquin Avenue closed in North Bay after trailer fire. May 31/23 (Jaime McKee/CTV Northern Ontario)
It happened on Algonquin Avenue north of the Highway 11/17 bypass.
"The driver came off Highway 11, to head on to 17, noticed the smoke, then the fire and stopped," North Bay Fire Chief Jason Whiteley told CTV News.
"On this was a mixed load of dangerous products including dangerous goods and paint. We had lots of aerosol cans shooting, we had the chlorine in different forms, both liquid and powder form and other pool type chemicals on this truck that we were dealing with."
Karen Matthews lives near the scene.
"I opened my curtains and I saw flashes of orange in the sky. It’s unsettling because it’s not like anything I’ve ever heard before. I didn’t know if it was a storm or what was going on. I waited up for about 20 minutes when a neighbourhood watch group person then posted what was going on," Matthews told CTV News.
Other residents CTV News spoke to said they could hear the explosions and the smell this morning was very strong.
"We checked all the buildings in the area, in the immediate path of the plume of smoke and we evacuated everybody. It was just the Sobeys employees, about 10 people working," Whiteley said.
"Our diking procedures was to keep as much of the fire water run off and chemical run off from getting into our sewer system. We diked that early, so there’s a lot of water that needs to be taken care of."
No one was injured in the incident, but the road will be closed for most of the day.
"Barricades are Algonquin at Spencer and Shireff," North Bay police said in a news release.
"Motorists are asked to use Stockdale Road as a detour to Airport Road."
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
There is a large amount of water on the road as a result of the fire that will take a while to clean up, Whiteley said.
Algonquin Avenue in North Bay closed after trailer fire early Wednesday morning. May 31/23 (Jaime McKee/CTV Northern Ontario)
Ontario Provincial Police and the Ministry of Environment are at the scene for investigation and clean-up.
By noon, the clean-up crew had made significant progress.
City crews stayed with police and monitored the scene.
As of 2:50 p.m. Algonquin Avenue is still closed.
In a news release sent at 3:50 p.m., OPP said officers are providing traffic control pending the vehicle removal and clean-up at the scene. They are expecting to remain at the scene for several more hours.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.