Workers at a concrete plant on the edge of North Dumfries and Cambridge won't be returning to work after the holidays after a massive fire gutted a large part of the facility Saturday morning.
The North Dumfries Fire Department (NDFD) said emergency crews were called to Permacon at 1081 Rife Rd. around 8 a.m. Dec. 28.
"It was a very large response," said Robert Shantz, fire chief for NDFD. "We had to have assistance from seven different departments in the form of tankers and in the case of Kitchener-Cambridge an aerial ladder."
The fire started as maintenance workers conducted repairs while the plant was on holiday shutdown and is not being investigated as suspicious. No injuries were reported.
Shantz said he doesn't think there's a chance workers will be able to return to the plant when the shutdown ends as the damage has consumed at least a third of the building. Areas where there was no fire have significant smoke and water damage, he added.
Multiple large pieces of machinery, equipment, and a large section of the structure were destroyed and the NDFD estimates damage in the tens of millions.
Shantz said the company is working with its insurance provider to determine the total loss.
He credits the quick response and dedication of local fire departments in ensuring there were no injuries and the fire was safely extinguished.
At the height of the blaze, 55 firefighters from various local fire departments were on the scene.
Due to the rural location of the plant, just north of Roseville Road and east of Highway 401, there are no water hook-ups for firetrucks, necessitating a large tanker truck response.
"It was a large very coordinated effort to pull water because there's no hydrants or tanks out there so it's all supplied by tanker shuttle and it was a very coordinated effort that we kept the water supply coming," said Shantz.