Businesses reel after fire hits old GMC plant
It was a sombre day for some Regina businesses on Wednesday following a fire at the old GMC plant building on Tuesday night.
At 9:48 p.m. the Regina Fire Department received a phone call about a fire at the building on the corner of Winnipeg Street and 8th Avenue.
Crews were on scene within three minutes and discovered one of the large centralized units in the structure was fully engulfed, with flames coming out of the roof.
“We were able to contain that fire to that unit. So it is a large commercial unit that’s used for industrial-type operations,” said Lane Jackson, Regina Fire Department chief.
Fire crews continued to fight the fire overnight, with 30 firefighters and seven trucks responding.
Crews were able to save 90 per cent of the building, but there was water and smoke damage to some of the businesses inside.
No one was injured.
The building is owned by the City of Regina and was built during the 1920s by General Motors. The section damaged by fire was not under a heritage designation, according to the city, and was privately leased.
Glen Hubenig is a truck driver at Rattray Enterprises Inc., which was located inside the building. On Tuesday night he received a phone call from his boss telling him about the fire.
“(My boss) was down there and I was down there (Wednesday) morning trying to look at the trucks. Well, there was nothing left of it,” he said.
Hubenig said that for the moment he is out of a job, since his truck was destroyed in the fire.
Kalron Construction Ltd. is also located in the building where the fire was, although Kalron’s staff aren’t sure how much of its business was damaged.
“We haven’t heard anything ... of course we want to hear .... it’s just they’re trying to figure everything out and make sure that it’s under control,” said Jill Dutka, Kalron’s office manager.
Kalron used the building as its shop and kept all of its construction equipment there.
There are a number of other businesses located within the building, but not all were affected by the fire. Power was off on Wednesday while fire crews battled hot spots and started their investigation.
Regina Education and Action on Child Hunger (REACH) has its offices within the building. Staff with the not-for-profit came in on Wednesday morning to find their floor flooded and the power off.
“(The fridges and freezers) did overnight maintain their temperatures, but of course wouldn’t be good for much more today. So thanks to one of our partners, which is the food bank, they’ve given us freezer and cooler space so we’ll be moving (the food there),” said Dana Folkersen, executive director of REACH.
REACH was forced to cancel all of its regular programming this week while it starts cleanup. As of Wednesday afternoon, REACH it wasn’t sure if its fridges and freezers were still working, as it did not have power to check them out.