Fire damages central building containing Lois Hole mural: EFRS

An overnight fire that damaged a central Edmonton building has also damaged a mural featuring former Alberta Lieutenant Governor Lois Hole.

A fire early Friday morning gutted the north-central building that is home to the Lois Hole mural.

The blaze at the empty three-storey structure at 11303 95 St. was reported around 2:45 a.m., according to Edmonton Fire Rescue Services (EFRS), which initially sent four crews to put it out, then doubled the number of resources.

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The fire was declared under control at 12:30 p.m. but not yet out as of 2:30 p.m., when crews were still putting out hot spots. 95 Street was closed in both directions between 111 Avenue and 115 Avenue for several hours in the morning.

No injuries were reported.

Buses were brought to the scene in case there were people who needed to stay warm, but later left the scene.

EFRS said it is too early to know how the fire started.

The fire department also said it appeared to have been boarded up and empty.

The city confirmed the property was not registered in Edmonton’s Problem Property Initiative (PPI) program, although PPI was “aware” of it.

In an emailed statement Friday afternoon, a spokesperson said the program had a “history of involvement” at the building due to nuisance and graffiti complaints, but the property wasn’t under active investigation.

The PPI has a municipal enforcement officer assigned to proactive patrols in the Alberta Avenue neighbourhood.

Impact on community

Neighbourhood resident Shannon McEwan called the fire and its likely impacts to neighbouring businesses and the mural “really tragic.”

The building appears to have been comprised of commercial units on the main floor and apartments on the upper two levels.

It also was the location of the Lois Hole Mural, created in 2008 by Ian Mulder as part of the city’s Giants of Edmonton beautification program.

“She was such an amazing woman and so fantastic for our community,” McEwan said.

Mulder depicted the former lieutenant governor, businesswoman and education advocate walking through sunflowers, away from the viewer, symbolizing her death three years earlier.

The mural was made on a kind of polyester material during the winter, then installed on the wall.

“It was a lot of fun to do, fun to connect with the Hole family at the time,” Mulder told CTV News Edmonton in an interview.

However, the fate of the mural was not his greatest concern on Friday.

“Murals are great because they are, in a way, not an absolutely permanent form of art. They can be redone,” Mulder told CTV News Edmonton in an interview. “I think the human aspect of it at the moment is probably far more relevant, particularly given this cold freeze.”

The condition of the artwork was unknown, as it was encased in ice after the firefight.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Evan Klippenstein and Jeremy Thompson