Shercom fire under control north of Saskatoon, crews save 3rd building

The end is in sight for firefighters on the ground at Shercom Industries.

After saving a third building from destruction, crews are now working to extinguish spot fires at the site.

The headway comes more than 26 hours after a building at the rubber recycling plant went up in flames Monday night.

“This was, and continues to be, a very difficult fire,” assistant chief Dave Bykowy said in a news release Wednesday.

He said the biggest concern now is a stubborn concealed fire burning among the 80 barrels of polyurethane.

In an effort to minimize environmental impact, fire fighters are working to keep the barrels intact.

Bykowy said many of them appear to be in that condition.

Crews are changing their tactics to combat the blaze; cutting access holes in an adjacent wall and attacking the fire from behind.

Fire has already destroyed two buildings at the Shercom Industries site, located just off Highway 11 north of Saskatoon.

Crews have manage to save a third building, which housed offices and some manufacturing processes.

Computers critical to the company’s operation were retrieved Wednesday morning.

Bykowy also noted the smoke plume created by the fire has decreased considerably as the bulk of the fire has been put out.

More than 140 fire, environmental, medical, police and provincial fire personnel have been involved in the effort.