Fire at Vale’s Clarabelle Mill under investigation

Greater Sudbury Fire crews battled an industrial blaze at Vale’s Clarabelle Mill last week. The fire was out in under an hour.

Firefighters responded to an industrial fire at Vale’s Clarabelle Mill last week, with crews working through the night to bring the blaze under control.

Sudbury Professional Fire Fighters Association IAFF Local 527 said career fire crews were dispatched just after 11 p.m. on May 6.

First-arriving crews from the downtown station reported heavy black smoke pushing from a large industrial building and confirmed a working fire.

“As a result, 24 career firefighters, the platoon chief and the air tech responded to the scene,” said Sudbury Professional Fire Fighters in a social media post.

The fire was contained between second and fifth storeys of the facility.

“Due to the size of the structure and smoke conditions, interior crews advanced handlines and worked off search lines,” the association wrote.

The firefighters’ association said multiple crews were required to get the fire under control, working throughout the night.

Greater Sudbury Fire Chief Rob Grimwood told CTV News the blaze was extinguished in less than an hour, but crews remained on scene until 7 a.m. the following day.

Cause under investigation

In a statement to CTV News, Vale confirmed the incident.

“We can confirm that there was an internal incident at Clarabelle Mill last week. All employees were safely accounted for, and no injuries were reported,” said Vale.

Grimwood said the cause and origin of the fire remain under investigation.

“We’re not, at this time, able to determine the cause,” he said.

“It’s still being investigated, but it is not suspicious in nature

Grimwood added that Vale will be conducting the investigation.

The company has not provided an estimate of the damage the mill sustained.

With files from CTVNorthernOntario.ca journalist Madison Marier