Fire broke out at a strip mall in the southwest community of Signal Hill early Thursday morning.
Someone driving by the strip mall in the 1800 block of Sirocco Drive S.W. called 911 at around 2:40 a.m. and said smoke was pouring from the roof of the building.
Paul Wiens, a district fire chief with the Calgary Fire Department, said the buildings had “extensive fire” coming from the roof when firefighters arrived.
At one point, 18 different fire apparatuses were helping fight this fire, including three aerial trucks.
Calgary fire said it had Enmax turn off the power to half the building and ATCO block all gas.
The power remained on for the other half of the building to try and help save perishable merchandise.
Wiens said that for some businesses, the damage is catastrophic and they will likely be unable to return to regular operations for awhile. Some may have total losses.
Rick Chuk, the owner of Le Villa in the Sirocco strip mall, lives just across the street and saw the flames.
“The fire was going up like 40 to 50 feet.”
Chuk hopes that the community can come together to help the affected businesses as many of them are still recovering from the effects of the pandemic.
“We need all the support we can get. It’s a tough business.”
Early Thursday morning, fire officials said crews would remain on location for a few hours to monitor hot spots.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation but there are no reported injuries.
Comments