‘Ottawa’ Street Sweeping Trucks Destroyed by Fire, Explosion Heard Near Kanata
Ottawa firefighters found four street sweepers engulfed in flames early Friday morning as they responded to multiple 911 calls about an explosion and fire near the communities of Kanata and Stittsville.
The 911 calls started coming in at 4 a.m. Residents reported hearing an explosion and seeing flames in the Jara Sweeping parking lot near the intersection of Faulkner Trail and Eagleson Road.
Police, paramedics, Hydro Ottawa and Enbridge were dispatched to the scene, along with firefighters.
No injuries have been reported. Fire crews managed to get the flames under control by about 4:30 a.m.
A total of seven vehicles were damaged, police said.
A hazardous materials team was then called in to prevent an oil and diesel spill on the ground near the street sweeping trucks from spreading.
“After they extinguished the fire they noticed that there was an oil and diesel leak all over the ground, and what the hazardous materials teams have been called in to do is stop that contaminant from entering any of the marsh area, the ditches, any potential water source,” said Ottawa fire Capt. Vic Dillabaugh.
An environmental company has been called in to clean up the rest of the contaminants.
The cause of the explosion and fire has not yet been determined, and the investigation continues.