Tuesday marked the one-year anniversary of a massive blaze and explosions that lit up St. Boniface at the Speedway International site.
The City of Winnipeg is set to soon examine a report on dangerous goods, with some residents remaining concerned about safety.
Dozens of nearby homes were evacuated when fuel at the Speedway plant went up in flames on Oct. 1, 2012.
“(It was) super scary. You could feel the heat when the explosion went off. I was kind of losing my mind,” said Stephanie Tetrault.
“If they were to build something, it shouldn’t be anything that could explode...it’s just not something you put close to where people live with their kids,” said Tetrault.
St. Boniface councillor Dan Vandal said a report will be tabled next week, outlining how to keep dangerous goods away from neighbourhoods full of people.
“We need to start a planning process to look at putting distance between heavy industrial uses that have environmental licences and residences,” said Vandal.
In the case of Speedway International, a permit said it stored windshield washer fluid when it actually housed racing fuel in 2012.
Winnipeg’s acting fire chief said that information assists the department when tackling large blazes.
“It’s always helpful to know if we have that opportunity, and in many cases we don’t,” said Bill Clark.
The province issues environmental permits to store special fuel. It said it may begin regular inspections of industrial companies such as Speedway International.
“I was disappointed to hear last year that our (fire) department was not aware what was in Speedway,” said Vandal.
Speedway International may have a tough time getting up and running again.
The city said the company didn’t have the proper permits while rebuilding at the St. Boniface site so a stop work notice was issued for its new business.
“To make sure that they are complying with all of the rules and regulations and making sure that there is a very safe environment and making sure what happened last time does not happen again,” said Mayor Sam Katz.
CTV News called Speedway International for comment on Tuesday, but the call was not returned.
It’s not yet known what Speedway International plans to store at its new facility.
The province said the company has applied for an environmental permit to store some type of fuel on the site. Provincial officials said it has to be done in accordance with city bylaws.
Since the city is considering changes and people living nearby the site also have concerns, no permit has been issued yet.
- with a report from Jeff Keele
