Smoke continues to fill the sky over a Brantford rubber factory after a fire broke out Sunday morning.
Police say they were called to the North West Rubber at the corner of Henry and Middleton Streets around 6 a.m.
The fire is believe to have started near rubber mats on skids sitting outside the business.
"The actual tire plant isn't impacted at this time," says Brantford's deputy fire chief Todd Binkley. "It's just their yard and outside storage area."
Firefighters are concentrating on preventing the fire from spreading further.
"The biggest challenge is that the product is a rubber matting that's piled on wooden pallets. Both rubber and wood are very combustible materials."
Police say there were no injuries but employees were present at the time of the fire.
They're asking residents in the area to stay away from the scene due to possibly toxic air.
Residents say they're feeling the effects of the smoke.
"Just from standing here and going by the street I can feel a little tingling in the back of my throat," says Doug Jarvie.
Brantford Fire is also asking residents and businesses in the area to close their windows and avoid the smoke as a precaution.
Officials say there is still a large amount of product burning more than six hours after the fire first started.
The Ministry of Environment is at the scene to monitor the air quality.
The Ontario Fire Marshall has also been called in to investigate.
