Cleanup and environmental assessment are underway following a fire at Greenfield Global's ethanol plant on Bloomfield Road in Chatham.
Greenfield Global says the fire, which broke out early Wednesday morning, was isolated to the facility's storage tank farm. The company says damage appears to be limited to that area and will not affect the plant's distillation capabilities.
No injuries have been reported.
Greenfield says lightning struck a corn-based ethanol storage tank, starting the fire.
The company says cleanup efforts are now underway after a limited amount of firefighting foam used to extinguish the fire was observed beyond the facility's property line.
Response crews have contained the material, and Greenfield says qualified environmental specialists and consultants have been brought in to help with cleanup, assess the site and determine whether any further remediation is needed.
The company is also working with the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP), the Spills Action Centre (SAC) nd the local fire department.
Greenfield says all vehicles and equipment that were at the site during the incident were decontaminated before leaving the controlled area.
Firefighters from St. Clair Township and industrial emergency response teams from Borouge International and Shell provided mutual aid during the response. St. Clair firefighters also used a drone to monitor temperatures on the storage tank and help guide suppression efforts.
Greenfield says a full investigation will take place once cleanup is complete.
The company says the safety of its employees, the community and emergency responders remains its top priority.
