Edmonton police are investigating, as they try to work out the cause of a fire in a north side strip mall Wednesday morning.
Fire crews were first called to the strip mall at 93 Street and 137 Avenue after smoke was reported at about 5 a.m.
The fire was under control after 40 minutes.
“The entire building was fully charged with smoke, so any opening that there was in the building there was smoke coming out of it, on all businesses, all the way around it,” District Chief Randy Shakura said on the scene.
Two businesses were damaged by the smoke, and one firefighter had to be treated for minor injuries.
Now, police are assisting in the investigation.
“The police are involved, as they usually are with fires like this, it’s not normal to have an entire building become fully charged with smoke just like that,” Dist. Chief Shakura said. “So they’re going to be involved for the time being.”
Officials said damages to the building and the two businesses inside totalled $1.9 million, for contents and the building.
The fire is being treated as suspicious.
