COCHRANE - A Cochrane company is looking at opportunities to restart a historic mill that a fire tore through last week, says the town's mayor.
At yesterday's (Aug. 13) Cochrane council meeting, Mayor Peter Politis talked about the Aug. 9 fire at the Rockshield Engineered Wood Products plant, which employs about 200 people.
“They're concerned, obviously, trying to assess what the damage is. And my understanding is that they will try to have a plan in place by the end of the week once they have a better handle on where the insurance is, and once they've got a sense of how much can be salvaged and if there's an opportunity to rebuild,” said Politis.
“Then we will focus wholeheartedly in joining them in a partnership, approaching all levels of government and looking tragedy in the eye and turning it into opportunity.”
To ensure the company’s workers who now find themselves on a temporary layoff find access to services they need, Politis said the company is planning a group session this week with federal and provincial services.
During Tuesday’s meeting, fire chief Richard Vallée said some fire officials were on scene for nearly 24 hours straight.
SEE: No injuries reported after fire at Cochrane's historic plywood mill
Politis expressed his gratitude to the firefighters and volunteer firefighters who worked to extinguish the fire. In addition to their own fire services, he said the town received help from Iroquois Falls and Kapuskasing, along with Expedition Helicopters for water bombing.
“Because of all of you, that mill is still there today. It's a remarkable testament to what makes small-town Canada, what it is. It's the volunteers, the community, the commitment, the pride, and the dedication to the communities themselves. They're the backbones of who we are,” he said.
“Without their effort, and certainly without us having the ability of a water bomber being there to handle a fire, I fear what could have been a fine line between the manageable situation we had and the complete disaster catastrophe we could have had in this community.”
There are homes less than 100 feet from the facility, Politis said.
“The chemicals, the stockpile of varnish that's there, for example, the propane, gas, all those items there are potentially explosive and disastrous,” he said.
The mill has been the backbone of Cochrane’s economy, Politis said.
“I'm not sure many of you realize that Cochrane was a rail town up until this mill was built. Our economy was rail for the first 60 years this community existed. And the first diversification of our economy was this mill built in 1964 … The growth of the community, that started with this facility, which has been through a lot of different trials and tribulations and has survived a lot,” he said.
“So, I'm looking forward to working with them and finding the solutions we can find to try to make that facility not only getting up and going, but put in the position to serve many more generations going forward.”
