‘A total loss’: Abandoned Edmonton church destroyed in ‘suspicious’ fire
Posted December 27, 2022 11:49 am.
Last Updated December 28, 2022 11:37 am.
Edmonton fire crews worked several hours to put out a blaze at an abandoned downtown church Tuesday, which police are describing as “suspicious.”
The fire at 106 Avenue and 98 Street was declared under control by 8 p.m.
Crews were still working on the site Wednesday morning as the fire was still not completely out.
EFRS district Chief Howard Samycia told CityNews there were a total eight trucks and 32 firefighters on the scene Tuesday morning.
“The building is a total loss,” said Samycia. “There is no doubt, the fire went from west to east and destroyed the entire building.”
Crews were called to the scene of the first-alarm fire at 6 a.m. They arrived to find the structure fully involved in flames.
Edmonton fire crews putting out fire at church near 106 Avenue and 98 Street on Dec. 27, 2022. (Credit: CityNews/Jonas Gilbart)
“It’s been abandoned for quite some time, we have not been able to get access into the building,” said Samycia. “When the excavator gets here we can slowly take it apart and that’s when we will finally be able to do our first interior search.
“Because of the ice build-up and the collapse of the roof, there are pockets of fire inside the building so we are waiting for an excavator to come and we’re going to have to start dismantling the building in order to totally extinguish the fire.”
EFRS says there were no reported injuries. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
There was some damage to an adjacent building south of the abandoned church.
“The residents to the south, the vinyl siding melted off, but we were able to keep the fire from extending any further into the building,” added Samycia.
The EFRS district chief says part of the difficulty with putting out a big blaze in the winter comes from the elements.
“You have to always keep the water flowing otherwise the lines freeze up so fast because the water coming out of the hydrants isn’t heated up,” he said. “And the wind, once you get the mist in the air, the humidity in the air drops the temperature in the local fire area down quite a bit so it does pose a lot of problems.
“Slips, trips, a lot of ice, a lot of water build-up in the streets that EPCOR had to come and help us with the drainage.”
—With files from Jonas Gilbart
Edmonton fire crews putting out fire at church near 106 Avenue and 98 Street on Dec. 27, 2022. (Credit: CityNews/Jonas Gilbart)
