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Explosive disposal team searches for ordnance after fire

July 4, 2013, Halifax – An explosive disposal team scoured a wooded Defence Department property Thursday in Halifax to ensure it was clear of ordnance after a small brush fire broke out, a military spokesman says.

Emergency crews were called to the Mosher Drive area of the Burnside Industrial Park around 10:30 a.m.

Military spokesman Mike Bonin said it's believed a shack being used by a homeless man somehow caught fire.

He said it's not clear what caused the fire or whether it originated on civilian or Defence Department property. Civilian and military firefighters extinguished the blaze, but it flared up and spread to the surrounding wooded area, he said.

There are no buildings on the military property and Bonin said no evacuations were ordered.

By noon, Bonin described the fire as small and "quite contained."

Nevertheless, he said an explosive disposal team was doing an assessment of the grounds as a precaution. Bonin said it was necessary because of an explosion at a local ammunition depot in 1945 that sent ordnance flying in all directions.

"A lot of devices got strewn throughout the property," he said. "It's a legacy issue that we're still working on. Who knows exactly what's there or where it is."

A spokesman for the Halifax Regional Police was unable to provide more details. No one from Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency could be reached for comment.