Health officials inspecting products at meat packaging plant after rooftop fire
Toronto Public Health (TPH) officials are helping to inspect products at a meat packaging plant on Thursday to ensure they are safe for human consumption after smoke from a rooftop fire entered the building.
District Chief Stephan Powell, spokesperson for Toronto Fire Services, said the fire department received a call about the blaze at St. Helen's Meat Packers Ltd., 1-3 Glen Scarlett Road, just before 4 a.m. on Thursday.
The plant, near Weston Road and St.Clair Avenue West, was evacuated due to the fire. No one was injured and all workers were accounted for, Powell said. He could not say how many workers had to leave the building.
Powell said the fire is contained but crews are still on the scene. About 24 firefighters and five trucks responded to the call.
"It's not getting any bigger," he said.
In an statement emailed to CBC Toronto Thursday, TPH spokesperson Owen Chong said a TPH inspector arrived on the site Thursday morning and was there until the afternoon.
The plant is inspected by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and "CFIA inspectors are also on site and are the lead for food safety at the location," Chong wrote.
"TPH's role is to provide support as needed in case food is condemned."
The fire did not enter the building but smoke spread throughout the plant, he said.
No cause of the fire has been determined yet and no estimate of damage was available.
Powell said the fire department was required to notify Toronto Public Health about the fire because smoke from the blaze may have adversely affected products at the plant.
According to its website, St. Helen's is one of the largest family owned and operated federal meat establishments in Canada.
