Early morning warehouse fire forces evacuation of Calgary hotel
An early morning fire at an abandoned warehouse on Seventh Avenue S.E. sent a massive plume of smoke into the air, engulfing the nearby Hilton Hotel in Calgary’s East Village.
First responders were called to the scene shortly after 3:15 a.m. to find flames and heavy smoke blanketing the building, with smoke blowing toward the nearby hotel.
Despite having 14 apparatus on scene, the firefight was a long one.
"When crews arrived, they attempted to go in and do an interior attack, however conditions quickly changed and made it quite difficult," Calgary Fire Department public information officer Carol Henke said.
The smoke from the fire set off the hotel's alarm, forcing guests out of the building around 3:30 a.m.
“My wife and I were fast asleep and all of a sudden, we heard the smoke alarm go off,” Aaron Getchell, one of the hotel guests told CTV News Wednesday.
Getchell said they first thought it was a test, but when they reached the stairway they knew something was wrong.
“We went into the emergency stairwell to take the stairs down and we immediately smelled smoke. The smoke became more thick right around the fourth floor.
“We just went to the car and went back to bed. Slept in there for about an hour.”
Another hotel guest, Sarvesh, said it was a disorienting situation.
"We didn't know where the smoke was coming from," he said. "But we are thankful the fire alarm rang."
EMS tells CTV News no injuries have been reported.
The cause of the fire is still unknown, and the investigation could be a lengthy one.
That's because building access is limited.
"It's old brick work that's just not structurally sound," Henke said.
"It could be an imminent collapse situation. If anybody has any information that can help, I'd be eager to see and share that with our investigators."
CTrains were temporarily impacted as emergency crews responded. Service has since resumed.
"The close proximity of the transit lines meant the CTrain service was disrupted both while we monitored the stability of the building, and further impacted when the CTrain line was de-energized to allow the building to be made safe," the fire department said in a statement Wednesday night.
"However, we were able to avoid completely shutting down Transit access until after the bulk of rush hour traffic had dissipated. Transit continued to run shuttles to ensure service.
"We recognize the impact on commuters and we'd like to thank all Transit customers for their patience as we worked to ensure everyone's safety. Transit operations have returned to normal."
The fire department says the building has been safely secured and turned over to the property owners.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Blaine Higgs 'furious' over sexual education presentation
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has shared his anger on social media over a presentation in at least four high schools.
This type of screen time has the worst effect on kids: experts
According to some experts, there is one type of screen time that is continuously excessive, and it's having a severe effect on our children.
Grayson Murray's parents say the two-time PGA Tour winner died of suicide
Grayson Murray's parents said Sunday their 30-year-old son took his own life, just one day after he withdrew from a PGA Tour event.
Some birds may use 'mental time travel,' study finds
Real quick — what did you have for lunch yesterday? Were you with anyone? Where were you? Can you picture the scene? The ability to remember things that happened to you in the past, especially to go back and recall little incidental details, is a hallmark of what psychologists call episodic memory — and new research indicates that it’s an ability humans may share with birds called Eurasian jays.
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
Driver, 18, gets $3,000 ticket, 32 demerit points after speeding on Laval boulevard
A young driver received a hefty fine from Laval police after they say he was driving nearly 100 km/h over the posted speed limit.
Indianapolis 500 delayed as strong storm forces fans to evacuate Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The start of the Indianapolis 500 was delayed as a strong storm pushed through the area Sunday, forcing Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials to evacuate about 125,000 fans who had already arrived for "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing."
Hamas rocket attack from Gaza sets off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv for the first time in months
Hamas fired a barrage of rockets from Gaza that set off air raid sirens as far away as Tel Aviv for the first time in months on Sunday in a show of resilience more than seven months into Israel's massive air, sea and ground offensive.
At least 13 dead in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas after severe weather roars across region
Powerful storms killed at least 13 people and left a wide trail of destruction Sunday across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas after obliterating homes and destroying a truck stop where dozens sought shelter in a restroom during the latest deadly weather to strike the central U.S.