Canadian Plastics Factory Fire Forces Power Outage

Residential neighbors of a plastics factory in Montreal’s Ville Saint-Laurent borough lost electricity Sunday evening when a massive four-alarm fire broke out at the plant.

City officials cut power to the neighborhood to aid emergency responders battling the blaze, according to the Montreal Fire Safety Service. Authorities were also concerned that smoke issuing from the factory could be toxic.

Eighty firefighters responded to the scene at the height of the fire. Fortunately, the factory was closed at the time and no injuries were reported.

Heavy smoke and streets blocked due to the emergency made it difficult for drivers to leave the area. Save for a small industrial area surrounding the burning plant, the borough is mainly residential.