EDMONTON- An industrial building in southeast Edmonton has been destroyed after an early morning fire.
A passerby called 911 after seeing smoke coming from Integrated Protective Coatings Inc., located at 70th Avenue and 50th Street, around 4:50 Saturday morning. Crews responded quickly, and a second alarm was called in shortly before 5:30a.m.
Approximately 60 firefighters were called in to fight the massive blaze, which was called under control around 7:40a.m.
Fire crews say strong winds from the northwest made for a challenging battle for firefighters.
“It was pushing across, adding to the flame, giving it more air,” explained District Chief Jim Henderson with Edmonton Fire Rescue Services.
Also a challenge for firefighters, was the fact that the building was home to a protective coatings plant.
“Some of the chemicals they have on site can be toxic, so we had all of our crews, they were all on air,” Henderson said. “Even the guys that were standing back from the fire, the operators, the pump operators.”
“There was a lot of paint thinners, that sort of thing.”
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Henderson said Alberta Environment was notified, but there was no indication the smoke was a health concern.
“Our HazMat crews did a check on the water run off, that’s all neutral. Most of the smoke has dissipated because it’s a pretty wide open field to the southeast, the way the smoke is blowing.”
The president of Integrated Protective Coatings arrived on scene Saturday, to survey the damage. Bob Frankie said safety has always been a top priority for the company.
“We’re a very safe shop,” he said. “We’re just working with the authorities to make sure everything is safe and secure and to help them do their investigation.”
While he wasn’t sure if it would be at the current location, Frankie said the company hopes to rebuild.
“We’re a growing, thriving business with a great product, with great staff, great people so, absolutely.”
A portion of 50th Street, between 62nd Avenue and 77th Avenue was closed to traffic for several hours Saturday morning.
Crews managed to contain the fire to the one building. There was no one inside at the time, and no injuries were reported, according to Henderson.
Crews remained on scene Saturday afternoon to continue their investigation into what caused the blaze.
“We’ll have some heavy equipment coming in to tear down some of the building so that the investigators and the crews have access,” Henderson said.
At this time there is no damage estimate, however, Henderson says the building is a complete loss.
With files from Shannon Greer.
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