Flames, explosions at junk yard fire in Calton late Wednesday night
Malahide Firefighters were called to their second major fire in two years at a junk yard in Calton on Wednesday, May 19, at 9:55 p.m.
The blaze was reclassified as a structural fire, and additional equipment and firefighters from Malahide’s fire stations were called in starting at 10 p.m.
Fire Chief Brent Smith said the fire grew rapidly, and was accompanied by 25 or more explosions from what were later identified as propane tanks, 45-gallon drums full of flammable liquids, aerosol cans and oxygen and acetylene tanks.
The fire grew to about 1.5 acres in area, and tanker trucks from Bayham and Central Elgin were called in, along with Aylmer’s aerial truck. At the height of the blaze, about 75 firefighters were working to contain and extinguish it.
The cause of the fire was unknown, and the site had no electricity to it.
Chief Smith said passers-by first noticed a fire about 25 feet in from Calton Line on the east side of the property.
This fire was larger than a similar one in December of 2019, he noted.
(Video contributed by Cindy Peters Franklin)
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