Operations Resume at Port Metro Vancouver After Chemical Fire

Port Metro Vancouver was largely re-opened Thursday after a chemical fireplace broke out in a container Wednesday afternoon at a terminal on the port’s south shore.

Port Metro Vancouver up to date that as of Thursday morning, all port operations have resumed except the the Centerm Container Terminal, the place the burning container was situated.

The fireplace broke out at roughly 1:40 p.m. Wednesday inside a container carrying the economic disinfectant trichloroisocyanuric acid, sending hazardous smoke into the air and close by communities, together with Vancouver’s downtown space.

The four-alarm fireplace precipitated evacuations and the shut down of all services on the south shore of Burrard Inlet and a “shelter in place” order that was lifted Wednesday night.

The fireplace has since been remoted to the only container, however was nonetheless smoldering as of 9 a.m. PST. A 100 meter exclusion zone stays in place across the container, Port Metro Vancouver reported.

“The events of yesterday demonstrated the coordinated response efforts of all agencies involved, something that is rehearsed regularly in training exercises,” the port mentioned in an announcement. “We would like to extend our gratitude and appreciation to all the first responders along with all partner agencies and our staff who worked tirelessly to control the situation from the moment it occurred right through the evening and overnight, and who continue to manage a coordinated response.”

The Centerm Container Terminal is certainly one of 4 container terminals in at Port Metro Vancouver and is operated by DP World Ltd.

Port Metro Vancouver is the largest and busiest port in Canada and the fourth largest in North America by tonnage. In 2013, the port dealt with 135 million tonnes of cargo, largely serving Canadian import and export markets.