Editor’s note: A previous version of this story said second- and third-engines were called to attend the fire. Second- and third-alarms were called. We regret the error.
Extreme cold weather was no friend to Calgary firefighters working to knock down a three-alarm fire in the city’s southeast Alyth/Bonnybrook industrial area.
At around 12:20 p.m. on Wednesday, fire crews were called to the 3300 block of Bonnybrook Road S.E. for reports of a fire on the roof of an industrial complex. Crews arrived to find visible smoke and declared a working fire.
A second alarm was called in half an hour later “for additional resources due to the extreme cold,” a city news release stated. Those extra crews allowed for regular warm-ups of firefighters working during the extreme cold warning declared by Environment and Climate Change Canada.
A third alarm was called in part because of the challenging location of the fire: under a heating unit and spreading inside spray foam insulation covering the roof in that area.
A crane was brought in to remove the heating unit so crews could have better access, and the fire was brought under control by 2:30 p.m.
A total of 19 people working in the building were successfully evacuated into a different, unaffected building within the same facility.
No injuries were reported and fire investigators are working to determine the cause of the fire.