Parkland Refinery writes $31K cheque to City of Burnaby to cover costs of foul smell event

Burnaby’s Parkland Refinery has handed a check of more than $31,800 over to the city, to cover costs incurred when a dizzying, foul smell wafted from its plant across Metro Vancouver early this year.

In a letter addressed to the city, the refinery says the money is meant to cover costs of the local fire department’s response during the incident on Jan. 21.

“As a commitment to our value of ‘Community’ and in being a good neighbor, we will also be increasing our social investment for this year by the same amount as the above payment,” it adds.

The strong smell that wafted over Metro Vancouver a few months ago was caused by a fire at the Burnaby plant that triggered multiple air quality warnings and prompted panic from residents who awoke to the scent.

This comes after Burnaby’s fire chief submitted a cost estimate to mayor and council in February, in relation to the fire department’s and police’s response during the incident.

The fire chief says 34 firefighters, 11 fire vehicles and two RCMP units attended the scene on the day of the fire. They helped secure the area and monitor air quality, among other responsibilities, for more than six hours.

While the total recoverable cost on the initial report was estimated at about $29,000, the final invoice was almost $3,000 more.