Workers safe after fire at Allan potash mine

A fire at a potash mine southeast of Saskatoon saw dozens of workers stuck in refuge stations for several hours Tuesday.

Nutrien spokesman Will Tigley told 650 CKOM that the blaze broke out sometime after midnight at the company’s potash mine near Allan.

“Emergency response teams were activated, we extinguished the fire, there were no reported injuries,” he said.

By about 7:45 a.m., 63 workers were being brought back to the surface after taking shelter in underground refuge stations while the mine’s emergency response team contained the fire.

Tigley said the refuge stations are well-stocked with food, air and other supplies.

“Just anything that you would (need to) make sure that they have the basic necessities to be comfortable while they wait to be brought above ground,” he said.

Tigley said the cause of the fire was yet to be determined and did not provide a timetable of when operations at the mine would resume.