Edmonton crews respond to fire in Allendale strip mall

EDMONTON – Flames could be seen coming from a two-storey building in the area of 106 Street and 63 Avenue late Wednesday morning.

“I was just driving past and I saw smoke coming out,” area resident Ian Walker said. “It was as if the roof kind of gave way. The flames just jumped out of the roof, maybe 10 feet high.”

Walker said firefighters arrived on scene very quickly.

The fire appears to have started above an art and music studio. Smoke was billowing out of a second-floor window above an awning that read ‘Store Front Studio.’

District Fire Chief Gerry Clarke said the fire broke out on the second storey of a commercial-residential building, in an apartment.

“The fire was contained to the office… limited to the one room,” Clarke said. However, he said that room sustained “fairly extensive damage” and was “pretty well gutted.”

The rest of the suite suffered smoke damage. The residents won’t be able to stay there, Clark said.

There is no word on the cause or damage estimate.

More to come…