A fire broke out in a reefer container at the Racine terminal at the Port of Montreal, which is operated by Montreal Gateway Terminals, prompting a preventive confinement notice in the Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough on Monday, 23 September 2024.

A noxious cloud was released into the air following the container fire, with smoke visible across the surrounding neighbourhoods. Residents living between Vimont Rue, Hochelaga Rue, Haig Avenue, and the Saint Laurent River were advised to stay indoors and secure their homes by closing doors, windows, and ventilation systems to ensure their safety. Around 100 people living close to the affected port area were evacuated from their homes. Video footage of the port during the fire shows billowing white smoke rising from behind rows of reefer containers, with Maersk’s vessel Vistula Maersk berthed nearby.

Port Prevention and Security teams responded to the incident, activating the emergency response plan in coordination with the Montreal Fire Department, which oversaw the situation. The port authority said that there were no injuries reported. Media reports indicate that the container was holding some 15,000 kilograms of lithium batteries. The fire broke out at around 2:45 p.m., and it took the Montreal Fire Department until around 3 a.m. the following morning to fully extinguish it.

Once the fire was brought under control, the stay-at-home notice was lifted at around 10:30 p.m., after tests confirmed there was no ongoing danger to public health and safety. After the notice was lifted, normal operations at the port resumed.

“The incident, concentrated on one container, caused no known damage at this stage,” the port said.

The cause of the fire is being investigated.

A fire broke out in a reefer container at the Racine terminal at the Port of Montreal, which is operated by Montreal Gateway Terminals, prompting a preventive confinement notice in the Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough on Monday, 23 September 2024.

A noxious cloud was released into the air following the container fire, with smoke visible across the surrounding neighbourhoods. Residents living between Vimont Rue, Hochelaga Rue, Haig Avenue, and the Saint Laurent River were advised to stay indoors and secure their homes by closing doors, windows, and ventilation systems to ensure their safety. Around 100 people living close to the affected port area were evacuated from their homes. Video footage of the port during the fire shows billowing white smoke rising from behind rows of reefer containers, with Maersk’s vessel Vistula Maersk berthed nearby.

Port Prevention and Security teams responded to the incident, activating the emergency response plan in coordination with the Montreal Fire Department, which oversaw the situation. The port authority said that there were no injuries reported. Media reports indicate that the container was holding some 15,000 kilograms of lithium batteries. The fire broke out at around 2:45 p.m., and it took the Montreal Fire Department until around 3 a.m. the following morning to fully extinguish it.

Once the fire was brought under control, the stay-at-home notice was lifted at around 10:30 p.m., after tests confirmed there was no ongoing danger to public health and safety. After the notice was lifted, normal operations at the port resumed.

“The incident, concentrated on one container, caused no known damage at this stage,” the port said.

The cause of the fire is being investigated.