Sudbury

At least $500K worth of potatoes lost in a Sudbury-area farm warehouse fire

A fire at a Sudbury-area potato farm warehouse on Friday destroyed at least $500,000 worth of spuds.

Don Poulin Potatoes runs a large operation in the Chelmsford area of Sudbury

A pallet with potato bags on it.
Don Poulin potatoes are sold at grocery stores in Greater Sudbury and other parts of northeastern Ontario. A fire on Friday destroyed one of the farm's warehouses, and the potatoes inside, (Jonathan Migneault/CBC)

A fire at a Sudbury-area potato farm warehouse has destroyed at least $500,000 worth of spuds.

Jesse Oshell, the city's deputy fire chief, said an electrical issue with an exhaust fan in a warehouse at the Don Poulin Potato farm caused it to short and catch fire last Friday.

That fire spread to the warehouse's wooden frame.

Oshell said firefighters quickly got the fire under control, but the potatoes stored inside were destroyed.

"We had to utilize a firefighting foam, and that foam did get in contact with the product," he said. 

In addition to the potatoes, Oshell said he estimates there was around $100,000 in damage to the structure.