Huge Thunder Bay fire destroys Great West Timber building
Flames and smoke from fire at old Great West Timber sawmill seen around the city
A blaze that kept Thunder Bay firefighters busy through the night is now almost out.
Just after 10 p.m. Wednesday, Thunder Bay firefighters were called to the city's waterfront for a fire in the sawmill at the old Great West Timber site.
Thunder Bay Fire Rescue arrived to find a lot of smoke and flame and a full second alarm was sounded to call in more trucks.
District Chief Kelly Patterson said there were water supply issues so crews had to pump water directly from Lake Superior to fight the fire.
"It is a sawmill, so I can imagine it was made completely out of sawn lumber," Patterson said.
"The fuel load there was very heavy and I don't think it was protected by drywall, as your home would be. So the fire raced through it pretty rapidly."
Fire crews battled the fire throughout the night but, by early Thursday morning, the fire was knocked down and some trucks left the scene.
Investigators will start their work to determine the cause of the fire when the fire is completely out and the site is considered stable. They will also determine whether to call in the Ontario Fire Marshal.
No injuries were reported.