Firefighters prepare to enter Canada Post's sorting facility on Alloy Drive on Friday, Nov. 1, 2019, after a white, powdery substance was found in the building. (Leith Dunick, tbnewswatch.com)
THUNDER BAY -- Canada Post 's Thunder Bay Alloy Drive headquarters has been evacuated after staff found white a powdery substance.
Thunder Bay Fire Rescue's hazardous materials team was on site on Friday morning and sweeping the building.
"Canada Post notified us of a white powder that was spilled in one of their mail-sorting areas," said Fire Chief John Hay. "As to their policies and procedures, they isolated the area and began to evacuate the building. Our hazardous materials response team was called, which was made up of members on duty and some addtional members were brought in.
"We assessed the scene, isolated the product involved and began our research and our investigation on what it could be and what it couldn't be."
Hay said with the assistance of Thunder Bay Police Service's crime scene identification unit, they were able to determine it was a non-hazardous substance.
"We cleaned up the product, overpacked it and it was given to a disposal company to take care of," Hay said.
The chief noted they have not determined exactly what the substance was, but did say it was grainy, which is usually a good sign.
"We can never take a chance," Hay said.
Link to original article on tbnewswatch.com: UPDATE: White powder prompts evacuation of post office building