Ammonia leak at Mount Hope bakery draws heavy fire department response

An ammonia gas leak Saturday night at a Mount Hope bakery triggered a response of multiple units from the city's fire department that lasted through Sunday afternoon.

Fire crews arrived at Oakrun Farm/Aspire Bakeries at 1770 Fiddler's Green Rd., just south of Hamilton's airport, at 11 p.m. (The business had previously been called Aryzta bakery.)

A fire department spokesperson told the Spectator that all occupants" had vacated the building on their own by the time firefighters arrived, and there were no reports of injuries.

HAZMAT crews remained at the building overnight and all day Sunday, leaving the property just before 5 p.m.

This was a protracted event due to the amount of the leaked ammonia and time it took to clear the building," wrote assistant deputy-chief Shawn De Jager to the Spectator in an email.

He added that the cause of the leak is still unknown.

By 8:15 a.m. Sunday, 22 fire department units had been dispatched to the building, according to the Hamilton Fire Department incidents Twitter feed.

Hamilton police closed off Fiddler's Green at 11:05 p.m. Saturday, and Book Road east to traffic westbound at the Highway 6 bypass at 4:50 a.m., and eastbound at Fiddler's Green at 4:36 a.m.

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