The Rocky View County Fire Department is currently investigating a fire that broke out around 7:45 p.m. on April 18. “We arrived on scene and the whole building was burning,” said Rocky View County Fire Chief Dax Huba. “All the equipment inside was burning black.” Dark plumes of smoke – originating from a farm property just off of Highway 22 and near the Shell gas station – could be seen from downtown Cochrane.
The burning building on the property was once a tool shed and welding shop and contained various fuels and tires, which is why the smoke was black.
“(The owner) was in and out of the workshop. He went back to the workshop and noticed flames coming out of the door. That’s what prompted him to call,” Huba said.
The fire called for seven trucks – four tender trucks with water – from Cochrane, Bearspaw, Madden and Rocky View County. There were also volunteer firefighters dispatched from the Bearspaw Fire Station and the county.
The accidental fire burned for more than an hour and was declared extinguished by 9:30 p.m. The building is not salvageable, said Huba, but the home on the property was undamaged.
“Because of the fuels that were in it – like tires, the vehicles, there were motorcycles – it makes it very difficult to put out a fire of that magnitude when it’s burning,” he said. “It’s unfortunate for the homeowners. The fire got into the building and spread really, really quick."
The fire is not deemed suspicious at this time.
