Fire crews have spent more than 24 hours at the New York Pork and Meat Exchange on St. Clair Ave. west of Runnymede after two separate blazes broke out there Monday morning.
One of the fires was a five-alarm call and prompted the evacuation of several surrounding homes. St. Clair was closed off for most of the past day as 125 firefighters pumped thousands of litres of water on the building.
"It doesn't happen that often," Dist. Chief Stephen Powell admitted. "Usually happens in buildings that have a very large fire load."
By 8am Tuesday it appeared the worst of the fire was under control and St. Clair had reopened. Crews said they might be in the area for another day hosing down the scene and making sure no more flare-ups occur.
Fortunately there were no injuries reported in the blaze but the plant's 60 workers could be jobless, and less than two months before the Christmas holidays.
"What do you do? You get up and go again. Dust yourself off and start again. Look for another job, right? Best you can do," said Brian Hall, a butcher at the plant, adding that he hadn't heard anything from his employer yet.
"No, nothing. Obviously it's finished, right? I don't know what their plans are or nothing. They were pretty upset yesterday, right. He's got his whole life in there."
Another butcher, Ben Parker, was just as saddened.
"Some people that have worked here for 20 years ... it's devastating for those that have been here that long. Some of us will pick up and go somewhere else. For the ones near retirement and have got nowhere else to go, very devastating for them," he said.
Though the evacuation order has been lifted, residents living near the plant are advised to stay inside and keep their doors and windows closed.
Environmental crews have been in the area checking air and water quality.
The cause is so far listed as suspicious.