Industry News News
Meadow Lake OSB plant to reopen after fire

“Due to the effective functioning of the facility’s fire suppression systems, quick action by our emergency response team and the Meadow Lake Fire Department, there was relatively little damage to the plant and equipment and we are targeting to be operational again by Tuesday,” said Parker Snyder Tolko’s plant manager at Meadow Lake.

Most of the clean-up operations have now been completed.

The fire started in the bulk storage facility adjacent to the main facility around 3am local time on Friday, January 18, 2013. No one was injured.

“The definite cause of the fire is still under investigation, but the origin is not dust or explosion related,” said Snyder.

“It took great commitment from our emergency response team to act quickly and put the fire out, arrange the clean-up efforts and repair any damage to our facility. We appreciate how everyone, from our own fire unit and office staff, to the Meadow Lake Fire Department worked together to ensure safety was maintained throughout the incident,” said Snyder. “I would also like to express my thanks to all our employees, particularly to our maintenance and operations crew, for their tireless efforts in getting us up and running again.”

Tolko directly employs approximately 150 employees at the mill in Meadow Lake and an associated contractor workforce.

The Meadow Lake OSB facility is operated by Tolko Industries Ltd. and owned by the Meadow Lake OSB Limited Partnership, which includes Northwest Communities Holdings Ltd., Meadow Lake Tribal Council Resource Development Inc., CIC OSB Products Inc., and Tolko Industries Ltd.