'Heck of a good save' on windy day as Edmonton firefighters keep garage fire from spreading
Despite brisk winds and six propane tanks on the premises, a Saturday fire in north central Edmonton was fortunately contained to just a garage, says an Edmonton fire official.
Multiple reports of the fire at at 93rd Street and 137th Avenue started coming into Edmonton Fire Rescue at about 4:20 p.m.
District fire chief Brian Lees said plumes of black smoke could be seen by firefighters driving to the blaze; when they arrive, flames were coming from the roof of the garage.
"The concern was what was in the garage," Lees said. "Usually when you see that much black smoke from a fair distance coming out of a fire station, you know there is more than one product ... that might be affected."
The garage was gutted, a boat was destroyed and two cars were damaged.
As well, two propane tanks in the garage blew their valves, and four other tanks in the backyard were also burned up, he said.
Lees said solid work by firefighters kept the fire from spreading to the house in the heavy winds.
"The wind, what I have to say is, it was a heck of a good save," he said. "As you can see, there is an extensive amount of damage but again, we could see it from a long ways so we knew we had something.'
Homeowners are being assessed for smoke inhalation. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
