Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Crash update

Timmins Police, working with an accident reconstruction expert from the Ontario Provincial Police, say the investigation continues to determine exactly what happened for a few crucial seconds Monday afternoon when a pickup truck on Power Avenue drove up onto the north sidewalk and crashed into two children walking home from school.
Ten-year-old Amelie Guertin of Timmins died from her injuries. She was pronounced dead at Timmins and District Hospital shortly after being brought there. Her nine-year-old companion received head and facial injuries and she too was admitted to hospital. Both girls were students at the nearby Ecole Anicet Morin.
Timmins Police Traffic Sergeant Randall Trebilcock says the 43-year-old driver of the pickup truck was also brought to hospital. According to police he sustained minor injuries.
The truck has been brought to the Timmins police building. That’s where the vehicle will be closely examined to see if there was any mechanical breakdown that may have contributed to the accident.

Monday, October 29, 2007

Crash kills schoolgirl

One child is dead and another is in hospital after a vehicle collided with a couple of schoolchildren near Ecole Anicet Morin in Timmins this afternoon. Timmins Police traffic sergeant Randall Trebilcock confirmed this evening that one child died as the result of the crash on Power Avenue. Witnesses at the scene saw a pickup truck straddling the sidewalk on the north side of the road where it crashed into the schoolyard fence. No further details are available. Timmins Police Service says the investigation continues.

Emergency follow up

An official incident report has been filed with Transport Canada outlining what happened with an the emergency involving an Air Creebec Dash 8 aircraft Tuesday morning, that had just taken off from Timmins headed for the airstrip at the Victor Mine, near Attawapiskat. The report to Transport Canada is as follows:
“The Air Creebec Inc. de Havilland DHC-8 aircraft (operating as CRQ441) was on an IFR flight from Timmins Airport (CYTS) to Victor Mine. The flight crew declared an emergency due to a landing gear problem and requested a return to Timmins Airport at 1120Zulu (07:20 a.m.) Timmins emergency services were notified. The aircraft held until the emergency services arrived and then commenced an approach. The aircraft landed without further incident at 1145Zulu (07:45 a.m.)”
An updated report indicated “after inspecting the aircraft, maintenance staff found that the hydraulic line to the landing gear selector valve failed at the flare.” This initiated a warning light in the cockpit. That prompted the flight crew to request emergency services and return to Timmins.
The update also indicates that inspection of maintenance records for the plane indicated “no maintenance action was completed in this area to indicate that maintenance error was a contributing factor.”The inspection also showed this was the first ever failure on this hydraulic line.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Airport emergency landing

An emergency was declared at the Victor M. Power Airport in Timmins Tuesday when it was reported an Air Creebec Dash 8 was unable to confirm the landing gear was operational.
The pilot radioed in to the Timmins Flight Services Station requesting emergency services be called out.
The Timmins Fire Department and Timmins Ambulance Services responded to the call, which was made at roughly 7:15 Tuesday morning.
Timmins firefighters were told by the 911 dispatcher that the aircraft had “28 passengers, 4000 pounds of fuel and seven ounces of radioactive material on board.”
When contacted by The Timmins Times, Yvan Perreault, Assistant Manager for the airport said “there was no such substance being transported. Not to my knowledge.”
Mike Pintar, Chief of the Timmins Fire Department confirmed that the fire call included the warning that radioactive material was on board the Dash 8.
“The page from the 911 dispatcher to the fire department did make mention of the radioactive material, but we go out there to make sure the plane lands safely, which it did,” he said.
The passenger plane circled overhead for roughly 20 minutes before making a safe landing on runway 03-21.
Passengers were transferred to another aircraft to safely complete the flight to the DeBeers Victor Mine camp near Attawapiskat, according to Perreault.

Restaurant inspections to be public

The Porcupine Health Unit (PHU) has changed its policy and will soon be opening its public health inspection results to the public.
The PHU board of health has decided that serious infractions of public health matters resulting from food inspections will be posted on the PHU website. This will take into account inspections at all restaurants and other establishments where fresh food is prepared and served.
The policy goes into effect on January 1, 2008.
The motion, approved by the board of health on Friday, noted both “the public has shown an increased interest in becoming informed when it comes to food premises inspection,” and that many other health units in the province are now disclosing their enforcement activities.
The health unit is headquartered in Timmins and serves the entire Cochrane District and as well as Hornepayne, in Algoma District. The health unit has branch offices in Cochrane, Hearst, Hornepayne, Iroquois Falls, Kapuskasing, Matheson, Moosonee and Smooth Rock Falls.
Earlier this year, Ontario’s privacy commissioner Ann Cavoukian commented there was no reason for health units not to make public health restaurant-inspection records public.

Friday, October 19, 2007

Explosion on Jubilee

Emergency services responded to a an explosion call on Jubilee Avenue today, shortly after 10:00 a.m.. Several residents in that immediate area reported hearing a loud bang. When firefighters arrived, they discovered a heavily damaged recreational trailer in the back yard of a Jubilee residential property. One side of the trailer appeared to have been blown outwards. Paramedics provided first aid for a man at the scene, who appeared to have injuries to his hands. The incident is under investigation.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Spill on the river

A containment boom was floated on the Mattagami River in Timmins today after reports that some sort of oil contaminant was spilled in the river. It happened in the early afternoon. The boom was placed where construction work is going on at the Timmins Water Filtration plant. As yet, there is no word from the city on the nature of the spill or whether it presents any sort of hazard to the public.

Friday, October 12, 2007

Mine Emergency - Fatal accident

Emergency workers rushed out to the Hoyle Pond Mine in Timmins today to respond to a call for a person in distress underground. Reports indicate two miners were working together in a raise when one was hit by loose. Among those responding were Ontario Mine Rescue, Timmins Police, ambulance and firefighters. Paramedics provided medical assistance once the injured person was brought to surface. The ambulance left the mine property at 11:41 a.m. to take the victim to Timmins and District Hospital. No further details have been released.

UPDATE: The Ontario Ministry of Labour confirms that the miner brought to hospital has died of his injuries.

Correction note

In Friday’s paper, The Times incorrectly stated Gilles Bisson was first elected in 1987.
In fact, Bisson was first elected as MPP in 1990.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Street racing suspect loses vehicle for seven days

A Timmins man has lost the use of his vehicle, and all his driving priviliges, for a week, allegedly for racing.
Ontario Provincial Police impounded the vehicle Thursday in what is believed to be the first local enforcement of the tough new law introduced on October 1. Police say a South Porcupine OPP officer had occasion to observe and stop the driver of a Pontiac G5 for allegedly committing the offence of street racing in Timmins.
The alleged offence, that meets the newly enacted and expanded definition of street racing, occurred at approximately 1:00 p.m. Thursday in Mountjoy Twp. The driver was stopped by the OPP officer who has charged the driver with Race A Motor Vehicle contrary to the Highway Traffic Act. The driver’s vehicle has been impounded for a period of seven days. Additionally, the charged person’s drivers licence has been suspended for a period of seven days in the province of Ontario.
Eric Fillion, 22, of Timmins has been issued a Provincial Offence Act Summons requiring him to attend court in Timmins on December 6th, 2007.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Wind damage

The wind is creating some headaches in Timmins today for property owners. A cottage property at Kamiskotia lake had the roof literally peeled back by heavy winds blowing from the lake. In the city, the roof at the Aurora apartment building on Suzanne Street was damaged by the wind as well. Most of the fascia and roof materials were blown off the roof and onto the surrounding grounds. At 11 a.m. winds at the Timmins Airport were reported gusting to 67 KM per hour. The problem of trees falling onto hydro lines has also created power outages in many parts of the city.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Fire on Kirby

Firefighters in Timmins responded to a two-alarm housefire at 268 Kirby Avenue late Tuesday. Fire officials say no one was hurt in the fire, but there is significant damage. Firefighters had the blaze under control quickly in the older neighborhood between Pine and Spruce Streets, where houses are located close together. The cause of the fire has not been released and it is under investigation.