Fire crews battle early morning building fires

CTV Calgary: Beltline garage claimed by fire Amanda Singroy reports on a busy morning for the CFD as two building fires erupted

Firefighters with the Calgary Fire Department had a busy start to Mother’s Day as crews battled early morning fires in the Beltline and the Foothills Industrial Park.

Shortly after 1:00 a.m., crews responded to the Meineke Car Care Centre at the corner of 12 Ave. and 12 St. S.W. and encountered flames and heavy smoke billowing from the bay doors of the business. CPS members were dispatched to the scene to help evacuate a neighbouring apartment building and a condominium complex.

Crews doused the exterior of the apartment building with water to prevent the business fire from spreading to the three storey building. Once the apartment building was secure, firefighters launched an aggressive attack and, after a nearly two hour battle, successfully extinguished the fire at the Meineke location.

“The problem we had with this fire was the products within the building itself that were burning,” said CFD Battalion Chief Al Magwood. “We used a large quantity of Class A foam to bring the fire under control.”

Residents of the condominium complex were permitted to return to their homes shortly after 3:00 a.m. According to the Battalion Chief Magwood, the residents of the apartment building will not be allowed to return to the building until it is deemed safe, which may take up to 24 hours.

While crews battled the fire in the Beltline, a concrete manufacturing warehouse in the Foothills Industrial Park erupted in flames.

Firefighters were deployed to the Westcon Precast Inc. warehouse in the 4400 block of 54 Ave. S.E. following reports of thick, black smoke and flames piercing through the roof of the commercial building.

The building was pressurized using large fans to remove most of the smoke and thermal imaging cameras directed crews to the location of the fire. Crews successfully extinguished most of the blaze but allowed a small fire to continue to burn as a preventative measure.

“We’ve discovered that a small gas line has been ruptured and we are continuing to allow that fire to burn so that we don’t flood the building with natural gas,” said CFD Battalion Chief Al Magwood. “Once we have the natural gas shut off, we’ll extinguish that blaze.”

CFD members remained at the scene of both fires throughout the morning to ensure hotspots did not reignite.

Investigations into the two fires are underway.