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Fire crews battle massive blaze in Port Colborne

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(Source: CHCH viewer Chris Foster)

UPDATED

Large plumes of billowing black smoke filled the sky Tuesday morning as a massive fire ripped through a factory in Port Colborne.

Emergency crews were called to an industrial fire at Vinyl Works Canada on Barber Drive shortly before 8 a.m.

Firefighters heard several explosions when they arrived on scene and soon after, a portion of the structure collapsed.

Fire departments from neighbouring areas including Welland were called in to help battle the blaze.

The fire spread so quickly, crews could not enter the building and were forced into a defensive attack almost immediately.

Officials held a news conference at 10:30 a.m. and said they were unsure if anyone was inside the building at the time of the fire.

The factory did not have a sprinkler system because city water lines are not connected to the site. Officials said there were no smoke alarms because they are not required in a structure if no one sleeps inside.

Niagara Region has issued a ‘shelter in place order’ advising residents in the area to stay inside and keep windows and doors closed.

There were initial concerns about water runoff going into the Welland Canal but crews put up a barrier and quickly contained the runoff in a ditch.

The Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change is on site with air monitoring equipment and the Ontario Fire Marshal has been called in to investigate.

The smoke could be seen several kilometres away in Buffalo, NY.

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