Crews fight fire at Brantford rubber factory

Fire crews remain on the scene of a large fire at a rubber factory in Brantford Wednesday morning.

The fire broke out around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at North West Rubber Ltd. at Henry and Middleton streets, sending clouds of black smoke into the sky over the city.

Brantford fire Deputy Chief Dwayne Armstrong told The Spectator the department was still actively involved in trying to extinguish the fire" around 9 a.m. Wednesday.

In a tweet, Brantford police advised traffic in the area of Henry and Middleton was being rerouted.

The public are asked to avoid the area and take alternate routes until further notice," the service tweeted around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Armstrong said there are three aerial units among those working to douse the fire. The reason for the fire is not yet known.

Another large fire erupted at the same factory - which manufactures recycled rubber - in 2019.

Ontario's environment ministry conducted air quality tests and found the air quality well within safe emergency screening levels.

Ritika Dubey is a reporter at The Spectator. rdubey@thespec.com