FORT MCMURRAY, Alberta—A processing-related fire broke out Sept. 21 at Titan Tire Reclamation Corp.'s OTR tire recycling facility in Fort McMurray, causing an undetermined amount of damage to the facility.
TTRC's parent company, Titan International Inc., said there were no injuries related to the fire, which started in one of the facility's six thermal vacuum recovery units used for reclaiming large mining tires.
The fire was contained to a building housing three of the TVR units; three other TVR units located in another building were not affected, Titan said.
TTRC staff is working with affected customers to minimize the impact to their respective businesses, Titan said.
"We have safety procedures in place to avoid potential hazards, as safety is a top priority at all of our facilities," said Paul Reitz, Titan International president and CEO. "We will continue to take actions necessary to ensure the safety of our staff, TTRC's neighbors and the environment.
"We are incredibly thankful to the first responders who promptly attended to the situation."
TTRC carries both casualty and property insurance for its facilities and equipment, as well as business interruption insurance, and is reviewing the extent and scope of this coverage with its insurance carriers.
TTRC, whose operations started in April 2016, uses thermal reactors to transform scrapped mining tires into oil, steel and carbon black. Fort McMurray is located close to the Alberta tar sands, thus TTRC provides a solution to one of the biggest environmental problems mining operations there face, Titan said in the past.
The facility escaped the massive wildfires that swept through Alberta in May 2016 without damage.