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Red Deer industrial fire forces evacuation of homes

Up to 80 homes near an industrial fire in Red Deer have been evacuated, fire officials said Wednesday.

"This particular building butts up with a residential area and so we did some local evacuations as a precaution because of the smoke," said Tyler Pelke, deputy fire chief.

Firefighters were called to Red Deer Ironworks, a metal manufacturer, at 6430 Golden West Avenue around 10:40 a.m., he said.

When crews arrived there was a "large volume of smoke" which meant firefighters couldn't enter the building, forcing crews to attack the fire from outside, Pelke said.

About 30 firefighters were on scene at the height of the fire which was declared to be under control around noon, he said.

There are no injuries and an investigation is underway.

About 25 firefighters remain on scene to deal with hot spots, and that work is expected to take "the better part of the day," Pelke said.

Alberta Environment is also on scene to monitor air quality, but most of the smoke has now dissipated, he said.

Chelsea Bergeron
Chelsea Bergeron