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Fire destroys Central Alberta business

A major fire destroyed the building of a raw pet food manufacturer near Lacombe Thursday afternoon.
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A Central Alberta business was destroyed by a fire Thursday afternoon. (Contributed photo)

A major fire destroyed the building of a raw pet food manufacturer near Lacombe Thursday afternoon.

The Complete K9’s building, located on Highway 12 about 10 kilometres east of the city, was a complete loss as a result of the fire, said Lacome Fire Chief Dennis Cole.

“We were dispatched at 3:27 p.m. and first arrived on scene within about five minutes,” Cole explained.

“It took about three hours to get the fire under control due to the size of it. We remained on scene until about 12:30 (early Friday morning) to wet down some hotspots and making sure everything was extinguished.”

There were no injuries as a result of the fire.

“There was approximately 20 employees on site at the time. They were all accounted for. Plus there were four dogs on site and they were all accounted for as soon as we arrived,” said Cole.

It’s too soon to say what caused the fire, Cole noted.

“The investigation is ongoing,” he said.

Clive Fire Department and Blackfalds Fire Department also helped battle the fire. Lacombe Police Service, EMS units and Blackfalds RCMP responded to the scene too.

Cole said the owner told him there was about $1 million worth of inventory in the building at the time of the fire.

The Complete K9 will be closed until further notice, according to a message at the top of its website.

“Any orders unfulfilled will be refunded. If you have an order placed that has not been collected, you will hear from us over the next few days,” the message said.

While crews were fighting the fire, 511 Alberta was warning drivers of significant delays.

Modern K9 Calgary, a client of The Complete K9, created a Facebook post about the fire Thursday.

“We are extremely grateful that their entire team was able to make it out safely and home to their families,” said the post on Modern K9 Calgary’s Facebook page.

“(The Complete K9) is a local family-owned business that has grown from humble beginnings to the large and successful company it is today.”

The Facebook post said it’s “heartbreaking” to see years of hard work and dedication reduced to ashes.



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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