Fire breaks out on grounds of steel plant northeast of Montreal
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$0 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*No charge for 4 weeks then price increases to the regular rate of $19.00 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.75/week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $16.99 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $23.99 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/04/2025 (235 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
MONTREAL – A fire broke out early Sunday morning on the grounds of an ArcelorMittal industrial site in the Montérégie region of Quebec.
The fire began around 4 a.m. among scrapped vehicles on the site, according to the city of Contrecoeur, where the company has several steel facilities. The community is located about 50 kilometres northeast of Montreal on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River.
City spokesman Sylvain Latour said there were no injuries and the fire was under control by late morning, though the cause remains unknown. The buildings of the industrial site were unaffected, he said.
The city says initial air quality analyses by the Quebec Environment Department do not show dangerous toxicity in Contrecoeur or the surrounding communities.
Statements posted to the city’s website say a plume of smoke from the fire travelled toward municipalities bordering the Richelieu River. But no evacuations were ordered, and Latour said the smoke was almost gone by late morning.
Latour said 40 firefighters were involved in the operation to put out the blaze, including some from neighbouring communities. Firefighters were turning over scrapped cars to make sure the flames were completely out, and they hoped the fire would be extinguished by late afternoon, he said.
Earlier in the day, the city had advised people to stay inside if they were nearby, and to close windows and turn off ventilation systems if smoke reached the area.
But Latour said those precautions were no longer necessary once the fire was under control, since smoke was no longer spreading.
In a statement posted to Facebook, the nearby community of St.-Denis-sur-Richelieu said that no air quality issues had been reported. Still, the statement warned that children, seniors and those with asthma or heart problems “may experience discomfort.”
ArcelorMittal has several facilities that form a large industrial site in Contrecoeur, including two steel plants and a steel recycling centre.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 20, 2025.