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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-02-07, Page 12PAGE 12. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2013. Continued from page 1decided it would be too much forme. It has been a great journey with an unfortunate ending. I am deeply saddened.” The decision affects 112 employees according to Seip, though for some it has taken effect sooner rather than later. “Currently we have a skeleton crew of between five to 10 people,” Seip explained. “We don’t know how long those people will be here[in a temporary office in the BrusselsBusiness and Cultural Centre].” Choosing to close the business was a decision made last Wednesday night according to Seip, and it was made so that the employees could begin looking towards the future and not be held waiting. “We just wanted to give them clarity and closure,” Seip explained. As for the property, Seip said that there is no indication as to what willhappen to it.“We’re still working with the Ministry of the Environment and the Fire Marshal’s office and the fire chiefs and we haven’t finalized anything there yet,” Seip said. “We’re still working on clean up, which is obviously still required. There’s no indication what will be done with the property.” As of press time, Seip said that themajority of employees should havereceived their final pay cheque and, if not, they would have it soon. The factory opened 29 years ago and expanded into the 60,000 square foot manufacturing facility and warehouse that was claimed by the blaze on Jan. 23. Orders at MDL Doors will be transferred to Masonite International which, along with All WeatherDoors of Mississauga, will bedealing with outstanding and future orders. For Huron East Fire Chief Marty Bedard’s full report on the fire, see insert on this page. Bedard presented the report to Huron East council at its Tuesday night meeting along with several pictures of the site. BY MARTY BEDARD Fire dispatch received the call at 02:29:24 Grey was the first station paged, followed by Brussels as this property is in the dual page area. Grey firefighter Adam Cochrane was the first arriving firefighter as he responded in his personal vehicle. Adam was followed seconds after by Allan Fretz of Grey, Ron Stevenson and Jamie Mitchell both from Brussels. All responded in own vehicle. Firefighter Stevenson informed base that the structure was fully engulfed and a third station should be paged. North Huron was paged for mutual aid and Seaforth tanker was requested as well. Due to the length of the building it was decided to bring in Seaforth pumper as well. We also brought in the Aerial later in the day to extinguish the fire from the top. Below is a summary of vehicles and personnel involved (on scene or water assist in Brussels): • Brussels Station – Pumper, Tanker and Rescue and 22 Firefighters • Grey Station – Pumper, two Tankers and 14 Firefighters • Seaforth Station – Pumper, Tanker and Aerial and 10 Firefighters • North Huron FD – Pumper and two Tankers and 10 Firefighters Due to the extent of the fire it became an exterior attack trying to knock down the fire from outside only. The structures were made of wood frame with steel cladding which made it tough to get the water through while holding the fire and heat inside. Eventually the building collapsed in, also making it tough to put out hot spots. The fire was under control at approximately 10:30 a.m. and crews remained on scene through the day extinguishing all the flare-ups and hot spots. Tankers trucked water from Brussels, Grey Station Water Tank and Seaforth. Crews also drafted water from the river throughout the day. The extreme cold temperatures made it challenging for firefighters as pumps, hose lines and even SCBAs were freezing up. I would like to commend all firefighters involved as they had to fight an extremely large fire in extremely cold weather conditions for over 14 hours. Everyone did a fantastic job. All fire personnel were released from scene at approximately 5:30 p.m. Brussels Station was called back for one hour at 8:15 p.m. to put out a flare up. I called the Ontario Fire Marshal’s (OFM) office and an investigator was assigned and arrived on scene at approximately 12 noon on Wednesday. A high hoe was brought in to remove debris so the hot spots could be extinguished. The high hoe also assisted during investigation in the days following. The Fire Department provided assistance on Thursday and Friday with vehicles and firefighters during the investigation. The OFM investigator finished Friday afternoon and released the scene to the owners. A huge thank you is extended to the many people and businesses who provided food and warm drinks for the firefighters as well as the many family members of the firefighters who prepared the food. This is a devastating event and it is heartwarming to know you have the support of the community. A thank you ad was put in The Citizen. Just to give you an idea of the many agencies involved in a large scale event like this I have listed who I know were involved one way or another: • Huron East and North Huron Fire • Huron County Emergency Medical Service • Huron County OPP • Hydro One • Huron East Public Works • Huron East Water Dept and OMI • Municipality Officials (Brad [Knight, chief administrative officer] and Jan [Hawley, economic development officer]) • Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office • Ministry of the Environment • TSSA • Donegan’s Construction (Highhoe) • TNT Security Company • Brussels Business and the many volunteers that fed the firefighters. MDL decision a tough one for Lichty family Fire damage Huron East Fire Chief Marty Bedard presented the above picture to Huron East Council on Tuesday night as part of his report, left, on the Jan. 23 MDL Doors fire outside of Brussels. The pictures were included in the report and taken from one of the municipal fire department’s aerial trucks. (Photo submitted) The details of your wedding will be recorded in black and white for friends to read and you to clip for your scrapbook if you tell the story of your wedding in our 2013 Bridal Parade. 1 photo of the bridal couple plus 300 word write-up (write it up yourself or pick up a form from The Citizen office and fill it in and we’ll write it for you). Just $25 (including HST) - must be paid in advance. Your story will appear along with those of other bridal couples from the past year. As well, the story and photo (plus up to two additional photos from your wedding) will, be published on our Brides in Huron website (www.northhuron.on.ca) for your friends around the world to enjoy. Deadline: February 8 Issue date: February 28 DON’T LET THE MEMORIES OF YOUR WEDDING FADE 413 Queen St., Blyth 519-523-4792 541 Turnberry St., Brussels 519-887-9114 The Citizen Email: info@northhuron.on.ca Have A New Addition? 519-523-4792 or 519-887-9114 Let everyone know about your new bundle of joy! The Citizen Call for prices and details Bedard recalls story of MDL fire