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FREDERICTON — New Brunswick's Public Safety Minister Kris Austin revoked a licence Friday from a Saint John scrapyard where a massive fire broke out earlier this year that released plumes of toxic substances into the air and water. 

Austin said he revoked American Iron & Metal's salvage dealer’s licence because he felt the company's response to a report about the fire was lacking.

“I am not convinced that (American Iron & Metal) has adequately addressed these serious concerns. As such, it is clear to me that it is in the public interest to revoke their licence," Austin said in a news release.

The Sept. 14 fire at the metal plant took nearly three days to extinguish and forced residents to stay indoors with their windows closed. Saint John Mayor Donna Reardon has said the fire was the size of three football fields, about three storeys tall at its peak, and left an acrid smell in the air.

A report released earlier this month by Attorney General Ted Flemming said the location of the plant, in the city centre and close to a residential neighbourhood, is inappropriate given its known hazards. It said the fire released contaminants into the air and the water, adding that significant additional testing was required to assess the scope of the environmental and human health impacts of the blaze. 

In response to the fire, officials asked nearby residents to throw away homegrown leafy greens and asparagus, and any vegetables they may have grown that could not be thoroughly washed.

Austin said he wrote to the company on Dec. 8 and offered it a chance to respond to the report; the company responded last week.

Though American Iron & Metal's letter was not provided with Austin's news release on Friday, a letter he sent in response was included. It said the company said it would develop a plan to comply with the national fire code, which Austin noted should have already been in place.

Austin also wrote that the company's response focused on its commercial concerns and did not "substantively address the public interest."

The minister's decision to revoke the scrapyard's licence is final and cannot be appealed, though the company has 90 days to apply for judicial review.

American Iron & Metal was not immediately available for comment on Friday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 29, 2023.

The Canadian Press