Fire at Imperial Oil’s Norman Wells site

Imperial Oil says a fire broke out at a unit within its Norman Wells facility on Friday evening. The company said nobody was hurt. The extent of the damage is not clear.

Residents told Cabin Radio they saw the fire emerge between 5:30pm and 6pm. Where precisely at the facility the fire took place was not specified by the company.

In a statement, Imperial Oil said the fire was extinguished overnight and is now out.

“Our focus remains on the safety of our employees, our contractors and our neighbours in the community,” said the company. “All personnel have been accounted for and there are no injuries. There is no risk to the community.”

As of 9:20am, the company said it was working to reset an emergency alarm continuing to sound from an area of the facility.

“There are still sirens going off this morning and we aren’t sure what is going on,” one resident earlier wrote by email.

“We have notified regulatory authorities and the local community,” the company’s statement concluded.

Frank Pope, the mayor of Norman Wells, told Cabin Radio he was satisfied the site had been secured and there was no ongoing danger.

Pope said the incident was under investigation and the regulatory bodies and neighbouring Sahtu communities were “fully updated.”