The current debris fire at Sablière Chevrier et Fils Inc. raises a number of questions. Despite the complexity of the situation, Ville de Saint-Lazare would like to summarize the situation below:

• This is no ordinary fire: there are no bright flames emanating from the debris. It's a slow-burning fire. However, smoke is present, indicating that material is burning in the piles of forest debris.
• As a result, we must dig into the debris piles to find the burning parts, water and spread encapsulating agents - products that are harmless to the environment - to block the oxygen supply and thus stop the blaze.
• There isn't just one localized source in the debris heaps. We must dig in several places, through layers of branches, tree trunks and other decomposing residues.
• REMINDER: no residues other than tree trunks, branches and stumps, mixed with soil, are found in the piles. The smell is therefore linked to both the decomposition and combustion of organic matter.
• Mechanical shovels are on site to speed up operations, in addition to firefighters and agents from the Ministère de l'Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs.
• To ensure that air quality remains acceptable, despite the odours, the Direction de santé publique de la Montérégie monitors and analyses test data on a recurring basis.
• Today, with the presence of a thick fog generated by snow cover and rain, the smoke plume may appear larger, but this is a false impression. Smoke output has been reduced by at least three-quarters compared with Tuesday morning.

Last night, firefighters went door-to-door in the heavily affected neighbourhoods to distribute a communication from the Direction de santé publique de la Montérégie, and answer residents' questions. The communication is available on our website.

Ville de Saint-Lazare's fire department, in collaboration with governmental officers, has been working tirelessly since the weekend to put an end to the blaze which, we remind you, presents no risk of spreading to surrounding neighbourhoods. We hope that the massive efforts deployed over the past few days will bring the operation to a swift end.