Calgary firefighters extinguish blaze on SAIT campus

At least a hundred people were forced out of a building on the SAIT campus on Friday because of a fire in the school's welding area.

Crews were called to the campus' Aldred Centre at around 11 a.m. after smoke alarms started going off, and arrived to find smoke throughout the first, second and third floors.

“People leaving the building confirmed that there was smoke on the second floor and potentially a fire in one of the instructional areas,” said a Friday news release from the Calgary Fire Department (CFD).

“Crews made entry to the building and proceeded to the second floor where they found large volumes of smoke and near-zero visibility in the welding shop area.”

Firefighters evacuated all floors of the building due to the heavy smoke and poor air quality.

A spokesperson for the CFD says an air handling unit on the building's second floor had caught fire, but crews were able to extinguish the blaze and keep it confined to the unit.

“After extinguishment, crews focused efforts on reducing water damage and venting the products of combustion out of the building,” the CFD said.

Firefighters responded to a blaze at SAIT's Aldred Centre on Friday, April 29, 2022. More than 30 CFD personnel responded to the fire.

The fire department says the building will remain closed to students for at least the next 24 hours, if not longer.

Investigators are working to determine the cause of the fire.