A fire in a container located in one of the Port of Montreal’s terminals prompted the city to issue a lockdown notice for the area adjacent to the port Monday evening in the Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough. The situation was back to normal Tuesday morning.
The preventive lockdown notice, which had been put in place early in the evening, was lifted around 10:30 p.m. On its Facebook page, the City of Montreal indicated that the fire was now under control.
“Even though the intervention could still last a few hours, the tests carried out confirm that no toxicity was detected in the plume of smoke. Any danger to the health and safety of the population has been ruled out,” the City’s publication read.
During the night from Monday to Tuesday, firefighters from the Montreal Fire Department (SIM) continued their operations and were finally able to attack the interior of the container, which contained lithium batteries.
As of Tuesday morning, SIM reported that there was almost no smoke left at the scene. SIM is now awaiting the arrival of a specialized cleaning team to take charge of the batteries.
“The lockdown notice has been lifted and the situation has been restored on port territory. The incident, which involved one container, has not caused any known damage at this stage,” the Port of Montreal said on its Facebook page Tuesday morning.
Around 3:15 p.m. Monday, in a post on the social network X, the SIM announced that its hazardous materials intervention group was intervening at the intersection of Bossuet Street and Notre-Dame Street East.
The Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough then posted a message on its Facebook page asking people living between Vimont Street, Hochelaga Street, Haig Avenue and the St. Lawrence River to stay indoors and close their doors and windows, as well as their ventilation systems, as a precaution.
Around 7:50 p.m., the post was updated to ask anyone who smells or sees the plume of smoke to do the same.
Police officers from the Montreal Police Department were also called to the scene to assist the firefighters.