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Deputy chief says Winnipeg plant didn’t have proper permit

Nov. 20, 2012, Winnipeg – A Winnipeg radio station is reporting that a fuel plant where an intense fire led to hundreds of evacuations last month didn't have a permit to store biofuel.

Deputy fire chief Bill Clark told the station (CJOB) that Speedway International received a permit in 2000 for a windshield washer manufacturing plant.

A fire inspection followed in 2001.

He says Speedway didn't apply for a new permit – as it should have – when the warehouse began to store biofuel.

The radio report also says no further fire inspections were done at the St. Boniface plant because they weren't mandatory.

St. Boniface city Coun. Dan Vandal says such inspections should be done annually.

"It's totally unacceptable," he said. "We're fortunate that nobody died in this incident. Somewhere along the line the whole process is deficient, it's dangerous and we need to change it."

The report, based on documents obtained through Freedom of Information, also says the plant didn't have a safety plan approved by the fire department. Firefighters who responded to last month's
blaze didn't know the type or quantity of hazardous materials they were dealing with.

The Manitoba fire commissioner's office has ruled that spontaneous combustion in an oily substance sparked the fire at the business, which produced biodiesel, racing car methanol and
windshield washer fluid.

Speedway International has said that it was federally licensed, had complied with all regulatory safety standards and codes and that no human error, equipment failure or negligence contributed to the fire.

Hundreds of people were forced from their homes as the fire lit up the night sky Oct. 1. It caused about $15 million in damage.