Early Saturday morning, a hazardous materials team responded to a call at 145 Richmond Rd. in Ottawa after reports of black smoke coming out of the second floor windows of the Canadian Bank Note Company (CBN).
CBC News reports the fire began around 2:40 a.m. in a room with several production presses and chemicals. Firefighters battled thick dark smoke – so much they were forced to go through a decontamination process following the incident – but they were able to put out the fire without any injuries.
Fire at 145 Richmond Rd. Crews going through decontamination process. Paramedics state No injuries #ottnews pic.twitter.com/CqoEP0exOL
— François Côté (@Ottawa_Medic) June 25, 2016
According to CBC, there is no estimate as to the extent of the damage. Ottawa police, paramedics, Enbridge and Ottawa Hydro also responded to the early morning fire, which was brought under control by 4:30 a.m.
An investigation is underway to determine exactly what happened.
Established in 1897 to supply security-printed products to the Government of Canada, CBN employs more than 1,000 people worldwide through four divisions:
- lottery systems (online games, terminals and systems, including full management of turnkey lottery installations, and marketing and on-site management, instant tickets and commercial games);
- identification systems (passports, passport readers, passport issuing and border control systems, visas, drivers’ licences, ID cards, citizenship and related documents, vehicle registration forms);
- payment systems (currency; postage; travellers’ cheques; fiscal, tax and liquor labels; bonus coupons; origination and design services); and
- shareholder services (annual reports, stock and bond certificates, high quality commercial printing).