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Fire destroys commercial building in Stettler

A commercial building just outside of Stettler was destroyed by a fire Thursday.
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A commercial building, housing two businesses, in Stettler was completed destroyed by a fire Thursday. (Photo courtesy Stettler Regional Fire Department)

A commercial building just outside of Stettler was destroyed by a fire Thursday.

Firefighters were called to the blaze located south of Highway 12 just after 5 p.m.

Prior to responding to this fire, the Stettler Regional Fire Department was dispatched to two grass fires, which they were still managing at the time of the structure fire, said chief Mark Dennis on Friday.

The fire department responded to the structure fire with two engines and a ladder truck.

“When we arrived on scene the structure was totally involved, so there was fire from one end to the other,” said Dennis.

“There was a giant plume of smoke, which attracted lots of spectators.”

Firefighters then began extinguishing the fire.

“Water supply was an issue because there’s no fire hydrant in this particular area, so we had to lay a large supply line across Highway 12, which is a major highway leaving Stettler to go towards the east. That was a pretty significant thing, to divert the traffic on the highway,” he said.

The commercial building was home to two businesses, said Dennis. No one was inside the building at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported. The cause is still under investigation.

During this structure fire, another wildfire was reported as well.

“We’ve been out about every day. Almost a week ago, we were on several calls in one day for various things, and half of them were wild land fires.

“It’s important for the public to be very cautious if they’re planning any recreational fires or anything like that.”

There is currently a fire restriction in place for the County of Stettler, which is issued when conditions are at a level where fires can start and grow quickly. Several neighbouring municipalities, including Red Deer County and Lacombe County, also have fire restrictions in place.

To keep track of fire bans, visit www.albertafirebans.ca.



sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com

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Sean McIntosh

About the Author: Sean McIntosh

Sean joined the Red Deer Advocate team in the summer of 2017. Originally from Ontario, he worked in a small town of 2,000 in Saskatchewan for seven months before coming to Central Alberta.
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