A total of seven trucks were unfortunately destroyed

During the morning of February 28th 2021, C.A.T. Inc suffered a fire in their  Coteau du Lac yard. A total of seven trucks were unfortunately destroyed and  another five trucks significantly damaged. The cause of the fire is unknown,  and an investigation is underway.

No one was injured in the blaze and that was due to the swift action of our  team, the fire departments and the compressed natural gas technology that  was the fuel source of these trucks.

All seven trucks were part of our Compressed Natural Gas fleet and due to the  natural properties of compressed natural gas and the safety measures built  into the trucks themselves, helped avoid making this situation even worse.  Natural gas is lighter than air and therefore if it escapes from its tanks it quickly  dissipates significantly reducing the risk of further explosion and damage.

Because of this lighter than air property in a situation like this, there is no fuel  leakage minimizing the potential for further catastrophe while also reducing  the environmental damage ensuring no fuel seepage into the ground.

These safety measures only reinforce why we believe Compressed Natural Gas  fuel technology is a safe, clean and efficient alternative to diesel. Drivers can  be confident that the technology attributed to this type of fuel will protect  them in the worst situations.

C.A.T. Inc is not anticipating any impact to our operations as a result of this fire  and we wanted to thank the quick and rapid response of Coteau du Lac, St Clet  and St Polycarpre fire departments for helping bring this fire under control  quickly.

For all media inquires please reach out to Marc Blanchette,  mblanchette@cat.ca