CALGARY – A number of critical city services have been impacted by a fire in an electrical room at Shaw Communications’ downtown headquarters.
The downtown Calgary building had to be evacuated around 1:30 Wednesday afternoon after a transformer blew up at the top of the building. Fire crews are still trying to determine what happened, but EMS confirmed that nobody was injured.
The blaze knocked out infrastructure powering things like city communications, fire department alerts and registries. An Alberta Emergency Alert was also issued after 30,000 landlines in the downtown core lost service, meaning they can’t access 9-1-1. Those requiring emergency services are asked to use their cell phones.
Get breaking National news
Alberta Health Services’ network is also down but officials say patient care is not being affected. Calgary’s 3-1-1 service is not working, but those requiring help can call an alternative number: 403-695-3255. The city asks it only be used for priorities like sewage backups, watermain breaks, traffic signal lights out and dog bites.
The city’s municipal emergency plan is now in place, and there are road closures in the immediate area of 3 Avenue and 6 Street SW.
ATB Financial also confirms their online banking system is down, as its system is housed by Shaw.
Technicians are still not able to get into the building to assess what needs to be fixed, and fire officials are concerned that water from the sprinklers won’t allow any power in the building to be turned back on anytime soon.
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.