Firefighters battled flames at a historic hotel on Edmonton’s Whyte Avenue Friday night.
Crews responded to the report of a fire at 9:26 p.m., and crews arrived just four minutes later.
As of 11 p.m. the fire was still not under control, with active flames still present in the building's attic.
“It is challenging. The biggest challenge we have is getting access to the attic area where the fire is,” said District Chief Martin Prins.
Nobody was in the building at the time of the blaze, and two buildings in the surrounding area were evacuated as a precaution.
The two-alarm fire triggered a response of 10 rigs and 40 firefighters.
Investigators remain on scene as the cause of the blaze remains unknown.
A witness who was dining in a bar just down the street recalled the moment he learned the historic building was going up in flames.
“Basically the firemen came in, they kicked everybody out of the restaurant and we came outside, looked to the right and saw flames shooting out of the Strat. I’ve never seen that before in my life,” said Mike Argall.
The Strathcona Hotel building has stood on Whyte Avenue since the 1890s but was recently closed and sold to Beljan Developments.
More to come…
