A large fire in west Edmonton on Friday was declared out at 9:10 p.m. that day.
Crews responded to Fireplace & Stove Centre at approximately 1:30 p.m.
“When we arrived there was a lot of thick black smoke coming from the top of the building. This is a warehouse, it was fully involved. So shortly after arrival they called for a second alarm so that doubles our response,” Dan Blackburn, district chief at Edmonton Fire Rescue Services (EFRS) Station 4, said on Friday. He added the fire caused some explosions, but that crews worked to keep everybody safe and away from the location.
EFRS said 13 crews responded to the call and that Friday's wind made battling the blaze a challenge. Smoke was visible from several blocks away.
“It’s very scary, a lot of black smoke and a lot of firemen out here, and when you get that many firemen and that much smoke, you know that it’s a serious thing,” said Myrna Swanson, who came to watch the commotion.
“Kind of shakes you up a little bit, you don’t expect something like this to happen,” said Rob Krueger, who runs an automotive shop across the street.
“First thing was just to make sure that everybody across in the building was safe and we made sure to get in touch with them and get everybody out of the building as quickly as possible.”
There were no reported injuries Friday.
The fire is still under investigation. Blackburn said it was going to be "some time" before they could determine a cause.
There are three businesses inside the building.
The area of 100 Avenue between 166 and 169 Street has been reopened.
