Date: December 9, 2018
Location: Upper Musquodoboit, Nova Scotia (CA)
Address: B0N 2M0
Type: Dust Explosion
Fuel: Wood Dust
Industry: Wood Pellet Production (Wood Products)
Equipment: Unknown
Company: Great Northern Pellets
Database Incidents: None Recorded
Loss: No Injuries
Capital Cost: Unknown
Status: Open
Confirmation: Unconfirmed
Company Description:
According to the company website, Great Northern Pellets is part of Great Northern Timber, which supplies various grades of hardwood and softwood chips for different applications, including paper products and biomass. It is headquartered in Halifax and has facilities in Sheet Harbour and Upper Musquodoboit.
Incident Description:
On December 9, 2018, the Chronicle-Herald reported an explosion and fire at a wood pellet plant in Upper Musquodoboit, Nova Scotia. Halifax Today reported that there were explosions and fire in a building called the hammer mill.
Fire crews reached the plant at about 11:45 a.m. Upon their arrival, smoke was coming out of two rooftops. Both buildings were full of wood pellets, and several mounds of pellets in their vicinity had caught on fire. The firefighters remained until late afternoon, trying to extinguish a fire in one of the buildings.
The Middle Musquodoboit fire chief could not say what caused the fire but confirmed that the five or six employees working at the time were uninjured. He added that fires have occurred at the mill in the past and company management has responded by improving fire prevention measures.
Sources:
Chronicle-Herald
Halifax Today
