Cheese co-op plans to rise from ashes

Monday, February 4, 2013

by SUSAN MANN

One of the few parts of the St. Albert cheese factory still standing after Sunday’s fire is the silo stamped with the company logo, but the venerable cheese maker is still strong and will rise from its ashes, says general manager Eric Lafontaine.

The board of St. Albert Cheese Co-operative Inc. was to meet Monday morning to decide its next steps but Lafontaine, who took over as general manager on Jan. 1, says “we’re going to rebuild, I’m pretty sure and we got to go forward, that’s for sure.”

Lafontaine says St. Albert is looking at manufacturing its cheese using its recipe at another processor’s plant. In a week, the company can have cheese back on the shelves but “rebuilding is going to take a while.”  

Lafontaine and Aurele Constantineau, head of The Nation Municipality fire department’s west sector, both say St. Albert cheese customers have gone on a cheese-buying frenzy and cleaned out stores in the area, in Ottawa, and in other parts of eastern Ontario.

The company was founded in 1894 and was noted for its aged and mild cheddars along with its famous cheese curds. The products are available in many regions across Ontario and Quebec.

In addition to the silo flying the St. Albert flag, the warehouse is also still standing. The factory was insured, Lafontaine says.

The company, which employs 120 people, used 30 million litres of milk annually to make three million kilograms of cheese a year, says Lafontaine who has been with the company for 17 years. Dairy Farmers of Ontario communications director Graham Lloyd says the milk that would have gone to the plant is being redirected to other processors in Ontario.

The Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the fire’s cause but could not be reached for comment. Russell County Ontario Provincial Police Const. Serge Gauthier says the damage is estimated at more than $15 to $20 million. He didn’t know the size of the factory but the building had several additions. “Some parts are older than the rest.”

Lafontaine says the factory was “really big” but he wasn’t able to say the exact size. The fire destroyed the building plus all the equipment. There’s never been a fire at the St. Albert cheese plant, he says.

Constantineau says firefighters were battling the blaze from about 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

About 15 workers were in the factory Sunday and customers were in the retail store when the fire broke out about 9:40 a.m. but everyone escaped without injury, he says.

Constantineau, who has been a volunteer firefighter for 37 years, says the St. Albert fire is one of the six biggest he has attended but it had the biggest impact on the community.

Lafontaine says the business has been part of St. Albert’s close-knit community since 1894. “It’s a big shock in this area. For people in the area, it’s everything for us.”

Lafontaine recalls going to the factory as a child with his dad to buy curds. “It’s part of our life since we were kids." BF

UPDATE: 5 February 2013

Carol Gravelle, public relations officer with the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office, says in its investigation of the St. Albert cheese factory fire the fire marshal’s office along with other fire safety partners, such as the Ontario Provincial Police, are doing some preliminary interviews with witnesses.

“The office of the fire marshal is not going to be able to conduct their on-scene examination until the scene has been deemed safe to do so,” she says, adding she doesn’t know when that will happen.

The scene still remains under the authority of the Nation municipality fire department, she adds.

It could be months before the cause is determined, Gravelle says. BF