Major fire at Greenfield Global plant on edge of Chatham

Chatham-Kent firefighters were called to a major fire at the Greenfield Global plant on Bloomfield Road in Chatham in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

There are no immediate details on the cause of the blaze. Flames and smoke could be seen for quite a distance.

More details will be provided when available.

Chatham-Kent police issued a public caution Wednesday morning that emergency crews are currently responding to a fire at the ethanol plant at 275 Bloomfield Rd.

“For your safety, please avoid the area of Bloomfield Road and Riverview Drive and follow any road closures or directions provided by emergency personnel,” police said.

There have been no reported injuries at this time and fire crews remain on scene and operations are ongoing, police added.

“Please stay clear of the area to allow emergency responders to work safely and effectively,” police said.

This is not the first fire at the plant.

There was a fire that started in the grain dryer at the plant shortly after it opened in late 1997 under the name Commercial Alcohols, with damages estimated at $100,000.

Another fire occurred in the grain dryer in the spring of 1999, with damage estimated at $25,000.

According to the company’s website, the distillery operation at the plant uses “locally sourced court and proprietary processes to produce a variety of alcohols manufactured without the use of antibiotics.”

Each year, the distillery produces approximately 200,000,000 litres of alcohol, 2,800 tons of corn oil and 135,000 tons of dried distillers grains with solubles, using about 490,000 tons of locally sourced corn.