October 31, 2007

Housing

Massive blaze destroys factory of pre-manufactured home builder Triple M

RICHARD GILBERT

STAFF WRITER

A massive blaze destroyed the main hangar of a housing manufacturer in Lethbridge on Oct. 23 and sent plumes of thick black smoke into the air near the airport.

The fire broke out around 2 p.m. on Oct. 23 at the Triple M factory, which builds pre-manufactured homes. The facility was evacuated and the staff gathered along Highway 5. They were joined by passing motorists, who pulled over with cell phone cameras in hand to watch as glowing orange flames engulfed the housing manufacturer’s plant next to the Lethbridge County Airport. The airport remained open, but the fire forced officials to reroute many travellers.

“There are three hangers on the site. The one that burned down was the main hanger, which included the administrative offices,” said Carl Miller, Triple M senior manager and controller. “The fire expanded very quickly and didn’t take long to progress. It probably took one hour until the building was fully down.”

Miller said “We can use the other two buildings and will be back to work Monday. We will double shift operations in order to keep as many people working as possible. We are also looking for temporary office space,”

Miller is dealing with people from the fire department and their insurance company. There is no word yet on what caused the blaze. They are waiting for the fire marshals report.

Triple M Housing Ltd. builds integrated housing and components.

The company has sales in excess of $75 million annually and employs approximately 435 people.

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