Five firefighters were taken to the hospital as precaution after four separate fires in Edmonton over the weekend.
Edmonton Fire Rescue Services (EFRS) were called to a three-alarm fire at a commercial block in the area of Wagner Road and 83 Street at 1:31 p.m.
A total of 27 firetrucks and 108 firefighters battled the fire and had it under control before 5 p.m. It was declared officially at 5:01 a.m., nearly 16 hours after it started.
Three firefighters taken to the hospital as precaution were released Saturday night.
The large blaze completely destroyed a school supply business, and threatened to cause damage to the other businesses nearby.
“As soon as I saw it cracking, you just kind of saw it blister out a bit,” Codi Schell, who witnessed the building’s collapse, told CTV News. “I knew it was going to come down.”
Later on Saturday afternoon, at around 6 p.m., crews were called to a grass fire near the River Ridge Golf and Country Club in Windermere, EFRS said. The blaze threatened homes north and east of the ravine, EFRS said, but firefighters were able to get it under control.
Late Saturday night, firefighters responded to a house fire in the area of 208A Street and 92A Avenue. There were people inside the home at the time of the fire, and one of the firefighters was temporarily trapped, but there were no injuries.
“Fifteen minutes after arriving, the first-in-fire attack crews were inside when the ceiling collapsed, trapping one of our firefighters,” District Chief Dan Blackburn said. “They were able to self-rescue and exited the building and were assessed by medical personnel.”
Two firefighters were transported to hospital as precaution, but they have since been released, EFRS said.
On Sunday morning at approximately 10 a.m., crews responded to a townhouse fire in the area of 47 Street and 126 Avenue.
The fire was contained to one unit and there were no injuries. The blaze may have been started by a cigarette butt.
“It’s a very high risk building to begin with, so in this particular nature, with weather being as dry as it is, you need to be really, extremely safe, especially if you’re a smoker to make sure you use the appropriate receptacles to discard your cigarettes,” District Chief Ed Ernst said.
With files from Dan Grummett