A major disaster was avoided early Monday morning when Greater Sudbury firefighters dowsed a fire outside an industrial strip mall in New Sudbury.
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The actual damage caused by the Â?suspiciousÂ? fire was negligible, but the potential for damage was enormous, according to fire chief Don Donaldson.
Fire crews arrived on the scene of what turned out to be a massive bonfire at 1899 Lasalle Blvd. at about 2 am.
A pile of large wooden cable spools stacked against a building with cable, wood and other combustibles was shooting flames upwards of 40 feet in the air before they got the blaze under control. That's not to mention the tar on the roof or the nearby natural gas metres, the chief added.
It would have been disastrous if they hadn't, said Donaldson.
Â?I am very concerned about this fire,Â? he said Monday, urging anyone with a tip to phone police at 675-9171 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIPS.
Â?If that fire had spread to the building, we would have had a disaster on our hands on the scale of what they had in Toronto last week.Â?
Donaldson was referring to a fire at a furniture manufacturing operation and warehouse that turned into a major inferno.
Greater Sudbury Police, the Ontario Fire Marshall's Office and the fire services are conducting an investigation.
