2-alarm fire destroys northwest Calgary restaurant

Burning question after restaurants go up in flames Two Calgary restaurants at the potential future home of a controversial development are destroyed following a Monday night blaze.

Officials are looking into the cause of a fire that tore through a northwest Calgary restaurant on Monday night.

Shortly after 10 p.m., fire crews were called to Fusion Sushi after witnesses reported seeing smoke and fire coming from the roof of the building.

“It was just up in flames,” said Pauline Packer, who witnessed the fire from her condo.

“They got it under control for a little while there and then I think after another three minutes, it kind of came back up again. It looked like it was just on the top here, quite high, huge flames.”

When the first trucks arrived, a second alarm was called due to the severity of the situation.

"Crews began an attack on the fire from both inside and outside the structure while conducting a search of the premises," officials said in a news release.

"Ladder trucks were used to safely gain access to the roof where firefighting efforts were focused and brought the fire under control."

No one was in the building at the time and no injuries were reported, officials said.

“It's never out of our mind, a fire could have been deliberately set, and I'm not saying all of them are, but we know that's a challenge we have as a city, there are fires that are deliberately set,” said fire Chief Steven Dongworth.

Calgary police have deemed the fire to not be suspicious in nature.

Crews remained on scene throughout the night and the cause is still under investigation, but officials say the fire began in the roof of the building.

Gummi Boutique owner Caelen Haney says he’s thankful his shop was not damaged, being right next door.

“To see that the building next to your store is on fire, it's a little concerning for sure,” he said.

“There's always a little inkling of fear, we were pretty confident that we would be all right.”

He says it will have a devastating impact on the community.

“We got Valentine's Day tomorrow, that's going to be tough for both restaurants in that location,” said Haney.

“It's hard. Something like that in the area makes it very difficult for businesses.”

Anyone with photos, video or information about the fire, especially prior to the arrival of any crews, is asked to reach out to the Calgary Fire Department by email.