Auto-shop owner vows to rebuild after fire destroys two businesses
A south-side fire late Thursday destroyed two Edmonton businesses and caused an estimated $2 million in damage, fire officials said.
Investigators haven’t determined the cause of the blaze that started just after 9 p.m. at 65th Avenue and Calgary Trail, Edmonton Fire Rescue spokesman Michael Tucker said Friday.
Fire crews arrived at Len- drum Auto Service and found the building engulfed in flames.
Fourteen fire trucks and 55 firefighters worked to contain the blaze, but it spread to a neighbouring business, Glenmore Boats, Tucker said. The cold weather made it difficult for crews working to douse the flames.
Lendrum Auto Service owner Christopher Taylor said when he received a call from the fire department Thursday night, he assumed the fire was minor.
“I didn’t think the shop would burn like that.”
But as friends texted him pictures from the scene, Taylor saw the severity of the fire.
Taylor talked to the building’s owner Friday.
“He’s rebuilding so I’m rebuilding. I feel a lot better after talking to him,” he said.
Crews continue to investigate the cause of the fire.
“It is a real mess. They’re still working with the backhoe to try to lift things out and get a better sense of where the source of the fire was,” Tucker said.
A $12-million Christmas Day fire in north Edmonton that destroyed five businesses is still under investigation.
The police arson unit, along with fire department investigators, continue to probe the cause of the fire at a shopping plaza at 127th Street and 137th Avenue.