Demolition

Jeff Green | Nov 30, 2006

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Cheese factory demolition goes awry

by Jeff Green

Five months after it ceased operations, crews were preparing the Harrowsmith Cheese Factory for demolition on Monday morning November 27, when a torch accidentally ignited the building. Some insulation caught fire, sending flames shooting through the building.

Crews arrived within minutes of receiving the call at 11:30 am, and within a couple of hours the fire was out. Several homes in the vicinity were evacuated during the firefighting efforts, but the people were allowed back home later in the afternoon.

The Kingston Frontenac Lennox and Addington Health Unit investigated the residual smoke in the village and at 7:30 pm the health unit and the Ministry of the Environment asked that the fire department go door to door in the village to inform residents that any residual smell on or around their properties could be hazardous to their health. They were given the option of going to a hotel for the night.

It is unclear how many people left their homes, although Fire Chief Rick Cheseborough said that many of the residents remained at home. The next morning the health unit issued a memo saying there was no longer any danger and people were free to return to their homes.

Demolition will continue at the cheese factory, which employed 89 people until it closed, and was the largest industrial facility in Frontenac County.