Pottageville fire occupied crews all day Friday
By Bill Rea

Firefighters spent most of the day Friday dealing with this fire at a welding shop just west of Pottageville. Photo courtesy of King Township Fire and Emergency Services

A fire at a welding shop just west of Pottageville created a lot of smoke and traffic congestion Friday.

But Fire Chief Bryan Burbidge reported there were no injuries and investigations by the Ontario Fire Marshal's have concluded. "There's no suspicion of anything other than accidental," the chief commented Monday.

The exact cause of the fire has not been determined, but Burbidge said a man was apparently working in front of the building at 5015 Lloydtown - Aurora Rd. cutting metal. He evidently noticed the fire inside. "It spread quite rapidly," the chief commented.

About 38 firefighters were involved in dealing with the blaze, including crews who pitched in from the departments in Bradford, Richmond Hill and Vaughan, with personnel from outside the township also standing by at the stations in King, covering for the occupied local crews. In addition, tanker trucks were seen driving to and from the scene all day bringing water to the fire.

Although there were no injuries, Burbidge said there was some concern over the possibility of heat exhaustion.

Smoke was visible for miles. Burbidge said there had been some thought given to evacuating the area, but he added the plume was not spreading along the ground. "For the most part, it was going straight up in the air," he said.

He added staff from the Ministry of the Environment was on hand to monitor the situation, and York Regional Police were ready, if evacuation had been necessary.

Police had Lloydtown - Aurora Road closed between the 7th and 8th Concessions for most of the day.

Burbidge said the alarm was received at 9:16 a.m. and fire crews cleared the area at about 7:30 p.m.

He added damage was estimated at between $600,000 and $700,000.