Vanscoy, Sask. — Some 54 Agrium Inc. miners escaped a fire at the company’s Vanscoy Potash Operation on Feb. 15, however, they had to spend the night in the mine prior to the escape. According to Agrium, a fire was reported in the mine on Feb. 14 at about 10:00 p.m. It started on a piece of underground mining equipment. When the fire started the operator activated the fire suppression system, but was unable to extinguish the fire. At that point all employees were evacuated to designated refuge areas, which can be sealed off and have phones, food, water, and other supplies. All of the workers were able to reach the refuge areas and an emergency response team was immediately activated to extinguish the fire and bring the workers back above ground. The response took place throughout the night and was completed at about noon Saturday, Feb. 15. Agrium said the mill had rock stored above ground so production was not significantly impacted. On Feb. 19, Agrium said the company was mining again in the south block of the mine, but that the north block (which was where the fire was) was still down as part of the investigation into the fire.
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