St. John’s airport fire started in terminal ceiling: officials

Investigation underway into cause of fire that broke out during blizzard

“Right now, we have a relatively high degree of confidence we can have things operational at that time.” Dennis Hogan St. John’s International Airport CEO

St. John’s International Airport was closed most of the weekend as the investigation into a late-night fire in the main terminal continued.

Airport officials had hoped to reopen the building by Saturday evening, but during a second media briefing on March 25, airport chief executive officer Dennis Hogan said the reopening would be pushed to Sunday, March 26 at 5 p.m. due to the ongoing work, with flights resuming at 7 p.m.

“Right now, we have a relatively high degree of confidence we can have things operational at that time,” he told reporters late Saturday afternoon.

A Sunday morning update confirmed that timeline — open to the public at 5 p.m. with operations resuming at 7 p.m.

Approximately 36 flights have been impacted by a combination of the fire and a winter storm that hit the island Friday night, March 24 and continued into Saturday.

Hogan said the airport is in regular contact with airlines and other partners and advised travellers scheduled to fly this weekend to contact their airline in advance to confirm their flight is operating on time.

The update noted that remediation and operation teams continue to work around the clock. Passengers are advised to continue to check with their airline to confirm flight status. Flight information is also available at www.stjohnsairport.com.

Hogan apologized to passengers for the inconvenience and thanked emergency crews from the airport, St. John’s Regional Fire Department and the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary for their quick work.

“We are really, really grateful we were able to confine this so quickly and avoid further damage,” Hogan said.

That damage, which includes the effects of fire, smoke and water, is still being assessed.

So is the cause of the fire, but Hogan said there is no indication it was wilfully set.

The fire is believed to have started in a second-floor ceiling, near a children’s play area close to gate 11, around 11:30 p.m. Friday night.

Staff were first alerted to the fire by smoke detector alarms and the facility was quickly evacuated as emergency responders located the blaze.

“There were some flames visible at one point in time and both our emergency fire responders here at the airport and St. John’s Regional (Fire Department) worked very diligently and quickly to suppress the fire and really contain it from going any further,” Hogan said earlier Saturday.

Power was cut to the facility and St. John’s Regional Fire Department trucks were escorted onto the tarmac to join airport firefighters in battling the fire.

A ladder truck was deployed to spray the fire from above and firefighters could be seen moving around inside the building.

Given the time of night and the weather — the fire broke out at the height of a snowstorm, which had already led to the cancellation of flights in and out of the airport up to Saturday evening — there were less than 30 people in the terminal.

No one was injured. Airport officials are assessing all systems at the facility, including those involving security and baggage, in advance of the reopening. Some portions of the terminal will remain under repair after the building opens.