Firefighters battle blaze at compressed gas facility in Brampton, Ont.

BRAMPTON, Ont.—Firefighters remained on the scene of a fire overnight May 7 at an Air Liquide compressed gas facility in an industrial area of Brampton, Ont.

Peel Regional Police said the fire was still burning, but under control, and there was no need for area residents to be evacuated.

The fire broke out at about 9:30 p.m. near Steeles Avenue and Dixie Road and touched off several explosions at the facility.

There was one injury reported, and a male employee was taken to hospital with non life-threatening burns.

Police Const. Fiona Thivierge says the fire began in a storage shed at the rear of the plant and heat from the fire set off smaller propane tanks.

The concern now is for a massive 30,000 gallon propane tank on the property.

Brampton mayor Susan Fennell told CP24 the fire is near the tank and firefighters were pouring water onto it to keep the flames in check.

“They have two unmanned aerial trucks delivering 3,000 gallons of water a minutes to keep that tank cool,” she said.

By comparison, added Fennell, “the average tanker going down the road would hold about 8,000 gallons of propane.”

Thivierge said there was no need for people in the area to be evacuated from the largely industrial area.

“There’s no risk to residents in the area … there`s no residential buildings or homes in the immediate proximity and there`s no risk to those people right now,” she said.

She said streets in the area would remain closed until the fire is out.

“We`ve shut down all the local businesses surrounding the business … so there`s no risk to any employees that may be working the night shift,” Thivierge continued.

Thivierge said trains were being blocked from entering the area.

“When the smaller explosions were occurring, debris was being sent in all directions,” she said.

“To maintain safety to people potentially on those trains, we`ve just shut down the tracks entirely.”