COCHRANE— Emergency crews made quick work of a garage fire that broke out Saturday (Nov. 14) afternoon in West Valley.
Cochrane Fire Services Inspector Jeff Avery said they received the call of a garage fire located on West Aarsby Road at about 2:45 p.m.
Upon arriving on the scene, Fire Services found a detached garage that was fully consumed by fire.
The blaze extended through the attic of the home located near the garage, Avery said, but firefighters were able to contain the blaze fairly quickly to prevent any further damage to the back end of the home.
The condo to the south side of the blaze suffered cosmetic damage.
The man who owns the garage consumed in the fire told Fire Services he was working on some older vehicles in the garage before the blaze broke out.
He took a break from the project and when he returned a fire had begun in the garage.
The garage owner stated he had three vintage motorcycles in the structure, along with a truck and a car.
“All of that is a total loss. The garage is a total loss,” Avery said. “At the end of the day it could be a fairly high dollar loss, and when you have bikes like that there’s defiantly a sentimental value.”
No injuries were reported from the fire.
It was a busy day for Cochrane Fire as they were attending a reported grass fire in the Fireside area prior to their arrival in West Valley.
Firefighters were on their way back to the station when the call for the garage fire came in.
“The engine, they were already out, so they were on scene fairly quickly,” Avery said. Two Cochrane engines, an aerial truck and engine 103 from Rocky View County helped contain the blaze.
“The fire crews were out and about that day so we got on scene fairly quickly and we knocked down the fire,” Avery said. “Mother Nature was one our side. It wasn’t a windy day. If we had our usual strong westerly wind we could have easily lost the house … We got in under control really quite fast. It was an excellent job by everybody.
He added a couple of residents did try to help prevent the spread of the fire with garden hoses— But, this proved difficult due to the size of the blaze.
“It’s unfortunate that there was a dollar loss. But the good thing is everybody is safe and we’ll rebuild,” Avery said.
The garage fire remains under investigation. The cause and origins of the blaze have yet to be determined.
