Firefighters were called to a blaze at an abandoned three-storey residential building near Edmonton’s Whyte Avenue on Saturday morning.
A spokesperson for Edmonton Fire Rescue Services told Global News that someone called 911 at 3:42 a.m. about a fire in the area of 83 Avenue and 108 Street. They said crews arrived at the scene six minutes later.
At around 8 a.m., the Global 1 news helicopter captured footage of firefighters using ladders to spray the roof with water.
“Crews, when they first rolled up, saw intense flames coming out of the top of the third floor,” said District Chief Mike Loeffler.
EFRS said nobody was injured .
“There was no one in the building,” Loeffler said. “This building was boarded up and abandoned.”
He added that older, uninhabited buildings can be particularly hazardous for firefighters.
“It’s not safe for us,” Loeffler said. “These old buildings, especially when they’re abandoned, they’re not looked after… structurally not safe.
“There could be holes in the floors, holes in the walls.”
He noted that firefighters were initially battling the blaze inside but “had to come out because of the heat and flames.”
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The fire department said investigators remained at the scene late Saturday morning but had yet to provide details about the cause or the extent of the damage.
Loeffler said the fire was declared out at 10:41 a.m.
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