Grand Forks Fire Rescue responded to a fully engulfed structure fire on Spencer Road Sunday evening, December 8.
Fire Chief Rich Piche says he arrived first on the scene around 8:15 p.m., where he found a large shop fully engulfed in flames and a neighbouring building about 15 to 20 per cent involved.
Crews quickly focused their efforts on protecting the neighbouring building, as Piche noted they “didn’t have a chance against the first building,” which was completely destroyed.
The department managed to contain the fire in the exposed building fairly quickly, despite having to shuttle in water due to the lack of a fire hydrant at the site.
The exposed building, used as both a band rehearsal studio and a residence, sustained significant water damage. However, Piche says the residence was unharmed, and firefighters were able to salvage some of the studio’s equipment.
“They had a lot of expensive equipment in there, and as soon as it was safe for our crew, we went in to grab as much of it as we could before it got water-damaged. The main residence remained intact, and we also saved an RV that was next to the exposed building.”
No injuries were reported, as all residents evacuated safely.
Piche estimates the damage to be at least a couple of hundred thousand dollars.
A total of 31 firefighters battled the blaze, bringing it under control in about 30 minutes.
Crews remained on-site until approximately 3:30 a.m. to ensure all hot spots were extinguished.
The cause remains unknown, and Piche says the extent of the damage will likely make it difficult to determine.
“There’s just so much debris scattered around, and the materials were still off-gassing this morning. It’s really tough for me to pinpoint a direct cause when there’s so little left. They have insurance, so their insurance company will likely bring in an investigator, but from my perspective and my preliminary investigation, it’s undetermined.”
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