Fire at rural Flamborough property still burning after 24 hours

A massive fire at a rural property in Flamborough continued to flame unabated Friday - more than 24 hours after it first broke out.

Dozens of firefighters from Hamilton and surrounding communities responded to the deep-seated blaze at 1802 Regional Road 97, near the Valens Conservation Area, around 1:30 p.m. on Thursday for a multiple-alarm structure fire.

Crews were met with what could aptly be described as a raging inferno. There were two barns fully engulfed, said Chief Dave Cunliffe, as flames quickly grew and spread thanks to fuel in the form of vehicles, hay bales and several quantities" of hand sanitizer on the property.

The arrival of multiple aerial tankers and high-volume hose lines propelled firefighters to spare a two-storey home on the property.

But the blaze continued to burn Friday afternoon with some two-dozen firefighter and four fire trucks still on scene.

And it could burn into the weekend.

Assistant deputy fire chief Ryan Coburn said crews' hands are tied until the hand sanitizer completely burns out.

It's so deep-seated that we have to let that product burn. There's too much of it there," Coburn said at the property Friday, flames behind him fanning in the wind.

The hand sanitizer is highly flammable, he added, and emits a kind of smoke that also mimics a fog or mirage - not the typical heavy and dark smoke seen in average fires.

The colour is different because of the type of liquid in it, which is very alcohol-based."

Crews on scene Friday were flanked by Ministry of Environment investigators, who probed possible ecological fallout from the hand sanitizer in the fire.

A ministry spokesperson said staff attended Thursday and Friday, and did not observe any off-site impacts. The spokesperson said they believe all the hand sanitizer would have been consumed by the fire.

Coburn said it's yet clear what caused the blaze, which is not believed to be suspicious and caused no injuries. He couldn't provide a damage estimate.

Sebastian Bron is a reporter at The Spectator. sbron@thespec.com