Firefighters Get Blaze at Evraz Steel Under Control

Fire crews in Regina battled a fire at an outdoor compound north of Evraz Steel that started July 27. Crews were there until Wednesday morning putting out hot spots.

Neil Sundeen, acting fire chief for the Regina Fire Department, said they were initially told it was a grassfire, but that turned out not to be the case. “Our wildline [grassfire] unit arrived on scene and determined very quickly that it was not a grassfire, it was an industrial-sized fire.”

The fire was burning in a pile of scrap metal and other materials in the Wheat City Metals portion of the Evraz plant.

Firefighters worked throughout the night and struggled with water supply and chemical smoke challenges. The fire burned outside the city limits, limiting access to water.

Firefighters also had to navigate an industrial plant at night, which brought its own challenges.

"In an industrial plant at night there are all kinds of issues with light and safety concerns and stuff,” Sundeen said.

Crews had to be extra careful not to expose themselves to smoke from burning chemicals, he added.