Edmonton firefighters enter ‘threatening situation’ to battle downtown blaze

Fire crews were battling a blaze at a building in downtown Edmonton Friday morning.

The fire was inside the two-story Imperial Building on 105 St., south of Jasper Ave. Crews were called around 4:30 a.m.

Dozens of firefighters initially attacked the fire from the outside because it appeared to dangerous to go inside the building.

“The volume fire at the back of the building led us to believe that there was a potential that the basement was quite involved, which leads to a very, very threatening situation for firefighters,” Acting district fire chief Brad Kitiuk said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The volume fire at the back of the building led us to believe that there was a potential that the basement was quite involved, which leads to a very, very threatening situation for firefighters," Acting district fire chief Brad Kitiuk said.

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They managed to get the fire under control by about 5:45 a.m.

“Once the fire was brought under control at the back of the building, crews were able to enter both the main and second floors, and including the basement,” Kitiuk added.

There is no word from fire officials about how the fire started or the extent of the damage.

The building has an escape room business on the second floor and a nightclub in the basement. It’s not known if the first floor was occupied.

For a time, drivers were asked to avoid 100 Avenue between 105 and 106 streets, as well as 105 Street between 100 and Jasper avenues. The roads were re-opened around 6:30 a.m.