A condo complex in Calgary’s Eau Claire area that had already been fenced off and was set to be demolished caught fire on Tuesday night.
In a news release, the Calgary Fire Department said crews were called to a fire in the 100 block of 2 Street S.W. at about 9 p.m. Firefighters encountered “heavy flame and smoke.”
“Crews were able to quickly assess the portion of the building on fire and search the adjacent areas for possible occupants,” the CFD said, adding nobody was found inside the exposed units. “Heavy fire hindered the ability to enter the source unit.
“Crews were able to deploy large volume hose lines on the fire, and aerial apparatus to open the roof area to expose the burning attic. Fire had spread throughout the entire unit and crews fought the fire from the outside.”
Keith Stahl, a battalion chief with the CFD, said that “while some of the materials have been taken out of the building, it does leave it in a dangerous situation for entry and we did have our crews start to enter the building and [they] were met with missing floors, holes in the floors due to the abatement … [so] we were unable to go into fire’s impacted site.”
The fire department said the part of the condo complex that caught fire was slated for demolition this week. The complex was to be demolished to make way for work on the city’s Green Line LRT project.
“Firefighters were able to bring the fire under control and determined that the condition of the building prohibited entry,” the CFD said.
“Fire crews worked with on-site demolition contractors to bring down the damaged building while extinguishing hot spots.”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
A condo complex in Calgary’s Eau Claire area that had already been fenced off and was set to be demolished caught fire on Tuesday night.
Michael King/Global News