An investigation is underway to determine what caused a “pretty significant” fire at a hockey rink in Fort Saskatchewan on Friday night, according to fire officials.
“We’re currently looking at all areas of the investigation… the fire was fully involved,” Bill Heesing, the deputy fire chief with the Fort Saskatchewan Fire Deptartment, said on Saturday.
Heesing said crews were called to a structure fire at the James Mowat Outdoor Arena just before 10:30 p.m. He said the players’ benches and penalty box caught fire and that the blaze was “fully involved.” However, crews were able to put the fire out before it could spread to any other buildings. He said crews left the scene at midnight.
No injuries were reported and Heesing said it was too early to provide a damage estimate.
Laren Kane lives near the rink and said she had just let her dog out in her yard when she heard barking and went to check on him. She said she saw the fire’s reflection on a house across the street and went to see what was happening.
“The grass was starting to catch fire around the penalty box on the outside and it was kind of concerning to me,” Kane said. “The Fort Saskatchewan Fire Department was fabulous. They get here and got the fire put out.”
Heesing said city officials will likely decide next week what needs to be done before the rink can be opened.
Anyone with information on what happened is asked to call the Fort Saskatchewan RCMP at 780-992-6100 or the Fort Saskatchewan Fire Department at 780-998-4858.