SUNDRE – Occupational Health and Safety is investigating after one person died at a structure fire in an industrial shop on a rural property west of Sundre Friday.
The emergency that unfolded on Nov. 22 involved a multi-agency mutual aid response that involved firefighters from the departments in Sundre, Olds as well as Clearwater County.
“We received a call yesterday at 3:49 p.m. for a structure fire west of town,” Sundre Fire Department Chief Ross Clews told the Albertan Saturday morning.
“The fire was in a very large shop,” said Clews, adding it was west of Sundre north of Highway 584.
“It was fully involved when we got on scene.”
Confirming there was a fatality as a result of the fire, Cpl. Gina Slaney, an RCMP media liaison officer, said members from the Sundre RCMP detachment were dispatched at about 6:20 p.m. to assist responding fire departments.
As of earlier today, the investigation was in the hands of Occupational Health and Safety due to the fact the structure involved was an industrial shop, Slaney told the Albertan, adding RCMP will assist as required.
“As of later last night, OH and S were on their way from Edmonton,” she said.
“Right now, we think it’s a tragic workplace accident. If they go in and find something to make them think it’s an arson, they would shut down and then we’d take over,” she said.
“But there is absolutely nothing to indicate that it’s criminal based on the initial investigation.”
Through mutual aid agreements, the fire department in Olds was automatically called out and sent out a pumper, a tender as well as a van carrying an extra crew, Clews said.
“We had a tender, command truck and both our fire trucks on it,” he said, adding, “Clearwater County Fire provided us a tender from the Caroline hall to help.”
The chief praised his counterparts at the neighbouring departments.
“It’s great we have the mutual aid support we do,” he said.
The response lasted many hours, and it wasn’t until much later that night that crews packed up and headed home.
“We left scene at approximately 10:45 p.m. and were back in the hall cleared with the units ready to respond again by 1 a.m. this morning,” he said.
The chief expressed condolences to the family of the deceased.