Three people were rushed to hospital on Wednesday after a fire sparked at a commercial warehouse in southeast Calgary.
The Calgary Fire Department said crews were called to 10905 – 48 St. S.E. just before 9:30 a.m.
“We had two tractor trailer units that were fully involved with fire and spreading to the building,” Bat. Chief Keith Stahl said.
EMS said three people between the ages of 30 and 40 years old were badly burned and had to be taken to hospital.
Two other people were assessed at the scene and determined to be in stable condition, EMS said.
“We had serious injuries to one of the occupants – these were all occupants who work in the facility. The remaining occupants of the facility were all able to evacuate safely,” Stahl said.
He said the building’s sprinkler system activated and kept the flames from spreading until firefighters were able to extinguish them.
Jesse Jones, who works at nearby Summit Salon Services, said she saw flames and thick black smoke coming from the building.
“It’s scary,” Jones said. “A lot of people were freaking out.”
Her coworker Garry Dickieson said he could smell gasoline and heard people yelling to “get out” before something exploded.
“The fire started quick – it went quick,” Dickieson said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, but Stahl said it seems flammable liquids may have been involved.
“It looks like they were working in the vicinity of the trailer at the time and were in the early stages of potentially loading the trailer with materials,” he said. “It may have been an accident on scene that led to the problem.”
Stahl said seven people were working at the business where the fire originated.
In a news release, the fire department said the warehouse was damaged in the fire and both trailers involved were destroyed along with their contents.