Fire at Domtar in Kamloops quickly extinguished

KAMLOOPS – In just over two weeks, there have been two minor fires the Domtar mill, but Kamloops Fire Rescue doesn’t think it’s a concern.

Oil and a hot pipe were determined to be the cause of a small fire at the mill at around 9:10 p.m., Tueday, Jan. 17. Platoon Capt. Jeff Bell says Domtar’s emergency response team arrived first.

“While units were on route they had information the fire was out from the Domtar emergency response team,” Bell says.

The department still sent 15 crew members and four trucks to help finish it off, but Bell says the fire was minimal.

“The fire was just limited to the direct area this oil was spraying,” Bell says. “It didn’t get into the steel structure.”

Because of the size of the mill and what it deals with Bell says calls are considered major when they first come in.

“Any response to that area gets coded as a major and then we can downgrade from there,” he says.

While the fire is the second one this month, Bell says it’s not a concern, and points out Domtar has it’s own response team.

“I wouldn’t say its a regular occurrence or it’s a concern,” he says. “It just seems to be a coincidence that we had these two so close.”

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