Fire at Winnipeg – Royal Canadian Mint

Fire at RCM in Winnipeg

The Royal Canadian Mint facility in Winnipeg experienced a fire early Sunday evening which caused about $300,000 in damage. Fire officials think the cause may have been an electrical short near an electroplating vat.

In terms of building I think that Winnipeg may be the more current of the two mint plants operated by the RCM, having been built in the mid 1970's and opened in 1976. Ottawa may be an older building dating back to 1908, but I think it has more high tech equipement in use today, as it stikes the majority of commemorative coins, while Winnipeg does the circulation issues, using modern highspeed equipment.

This is at least the third fire at the Winnipeg plant of the RCM since 2005. A fire in 2007 closed down the coin plating line. Problems with sprinkler installation have been a sore point for the RCM and were at the root of the second fire.

Visitors can get a tour of the Winnipeg manufacturing plant for $5.00, though I am not sure how this fire might effect that option. The RCM Headquarters at Ottawa can also be toured for the same price. Seeing that the RCM tends to be an innovator in the world of commemorative coinage, touring their facilities might be well worthy of a summer trip.