Staff at the Harmac pulp mill at Duke Point, south of Nanaimo, will hold their annual evacuation drill on Tuesday morning. (Google Maps)

By Alex Rawnsley

no cause for concern

Nanaimo’s Harmac Mill to run annual evacuation drill

Jan 27, 2025 | 2:07 PM

NANAIMO — The sound of sirens coming from the Nanaimo Forest Products Harmac Pulp Operations mill on Tuesday morning is nothing for concern.

Mill workers have scheduled their annual evacuation drill for Tuesday, Jan. 28 beginning around 9:30 a.m. at their facility on Wave Pl. at Duke Point.

Safety and training supervisor Jayme Ulicny told NanaimoNewsNOW various provincial and federal agencies including WorkSafeBC and Transport Canada require these types of drills on a regular basis.

“[People] probably won’t see anything but what they will hear is the sound of the fire alarm and the steam horn. They’re going to be on and off, five seconds on, five seconds off and that will probably only last about five minutes.”

The sirens often raise concern from nearby residents, with the sound floating easily over to Gabriola Island and areas of Cedar/Yellow Point.

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Some in downtown and south Nanaimo also report hearing the sirens and alarms during these types of events.

Staff on site will assemble in one of three muster stations during the exercise, which is an important one according to Ulicny.

“What we get out of it is training our workers to be prepared for these types of evacuations should anything ever come about in the mill. Any natural disaster or process upset that was significant enough to mandate an evacuation.”

It’s expected everything will wrap and normal operations will resume at the Duke Point site by 10 a.m.

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