By William Crooks
Local Journalism Initiative
The town of Bolton-Est is continuing to manage the aftermath of a major fire that destroyed the Polyrheo chemical plant on Missisquoi Road on Fri., Mar. 28. Acting mayor Pierre Lemay confirmed that cleanup efforts are progressing and that no residents have been injured or evacuated, though environmental assessments are still underway.
The fire broke out early Friday morning at the chemical additives facility and quickly grew into a multi-jurisdictional emergency. “We had all the different firemen of the different localities here. There were six localities of firemen,” said Lemay in an interview on Mar. 29. Fire departments from Austin, Potton, Eastman, Lac-Brome, and other nearby municipalities assisted in containing the blaze. Firefighters fought the flames defensively, spraying water from outside the building and using heavy machinery to pull apart burning structures.
At its peak, the fire prompted health warnings due to thick black smoke. Residents of the South Bolton area were asked to stay indoors and avoid consuming well water as a precaution. A day later, the town confirmed that water quality in the Missisquoi River had returned to normal. “We got the okay from public safety that no, it would not be affected—that the aquifer was so low that it would not go into there,” Lemay explained.
The blaze was largely extinguished by Friday afternoon. “Late afternoon it was gone, and then the road was open late evening around 9 o’clock,” said Lemay. A team of municipal employees remained on hand throughout the event to assist with potential evacuations and logistics. “We were ready for any evacuation, or making sure that if people needed a place to go, we had the place set up,” Lemay added, offering praise for town staff.
While residents appear to have been spared the worst, environmental officials remain cautious. According to the municipality’s latest public notice, specialists from the Ministries of the Environment, Public Safety and Public Health remain on site. “A team of experts is still on site to ensure that contaminants are contained within the perimeter of the company’s property, to continue securing the site and to continue the cleanup,” reads the statement.
