Chemical company's Edmonton sites the scene of multiple fires since December

Edmonton firefighters have responded to a rash of fires the most recent of which was last week at locations used by American chemical company Hexion Inc.

Three separate fires since Dec. 28, 2017, have caused nearly $1 million in damage to structures and products owned by the company,said Edmonton Fire Rescue Services spokesperson MayaFilipovic.

• Firefighters respond to fire at Edmonton chemical complex

In last week's incident, fire crews responded to alarms at a complex near 154th Street and 128th Avenue. They discovered a burning vesselused to house chemicalsin one of the buildings, Filipovic said.

Three hazardous materials units helped firefighters evacuate the building. The fire was brought under control and put out within three hours of the initial alarm.

One person, an associate of the company, "was taken as a precaution to the hospital for treatment," said HexionInc. spokesperson John Kompa.

Kompa emphasized the fire was small and said Hexion is conducting an internal investigation"to identify the causes and any necessary measures to prevent such an occurrence in the future."

FilipovictoldCBCNews that achemical reaction caused the July 11 fire.Damage to the product is estimated at $100,000, she said.

In an incident on May 24, firefighters responded to a minor fire involving bales of wood shavings in a storage yard belonging to a HexionInc. site near126thAvenue and156thStreet.

On Dec. 28, 2017, firefighters extinguished flames in a lab at the same site.At the time of the fire, thechemical phenol was being heated using an electric oven in the lab, Filipovic said.

Damage caused by the December blaze was estimated at a total of $800,000 $300,000 in damage to the structure and an additional $500,000to the contents, she said.

Prior to the spate of incidents since December, the most recent fire linked to Hexion Inc. in Edmonton was in 2013. Thatincident involved power poles on the property that are not owned by the company, Filipovic said.

According to AlbertaOccupational Health and Safety, the fires onDec. 28, 2017, and July 11 were bothreported to the branch and are under investigation,said government spokesperson TrentBancarz.

There have been no orders issued in either case, he added.

"Regret the recent fire' but committed to safety

HexionInc., an Ohio-based company with about 60 plants worldwide, has been linked to variousfires reported by news outlets in theUnited States and elsewhere over the past decade.

The chemical company, which specializes in thermoset resins, formed in 2010following a merger betweenMomentivePerformance Materials Inc. andHexionSpecialty Chemicals Inc. The newly formed company was first known asMomentiveSpecialty Chemicals, untilthe name was changed in 2015 toHexionInc.

While HexionInc. did talk to CBCNews about the July 11 fire at its site in northwest Edmonton, itdeclined to comment on any other incidents.

"While we regret the recent fire, Hexion'sEdmonton site remains committed to operating safely and being a significant employer in the region for years to come," said Peter Stensel, the company's Edmonton plant site leader, in a written statement sent to CBCJuly 18.

The company, under its various names, has been the subject of of multiple investigations and fines by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in the United States.

Between 2012 and 2014, OSHA opened nine files on MomentiveSpecialty Chemicals Inc., according to its public online database.

Four of the inspections resulted in combined fines of more than $18,000 for violations of health and safety regulations. Thoseinitial fines were reduced to just over $8,500 in total, following formal and informal settlements between OSHA and the company.

Two more files on the company were created by OSHAfollowing the 2015 name change to Hexion Inc.

HexionInc. faces just over $1,200 in penalties for five violations stemming from a 2016 inspection in Springfield, Ore. Theinitialfines were reduced from just over $2,400 total.

Fines by OSHAcan be adjusted or eliminated through formal or informal settlements, which can involve commitments by the company to correct hazards and violations.

According to the OSHAField Operation Manual, fines are"designed primarily to provide an incentive for preventing or correcting violations voluntarily, not only to the cited employer, but to other employers."