Larissa Kurz
Regina Leader-Post
A massive fire has destroyed an unfinished apartment building just a few blocks north of Regina General Hospital (RGH), according to the project’s developer.
“It’s a total loss. There’s nothing left,” said Cara Homes spokesperson Chesteep Pannu in an interview Tuesday. “I’m not sure about the foundation, but the building is gone.”
Emergency dispatchers received multiple calls about the fire shortly after 9 p.m. on Monday, Regina Fire and Protective Services (RFPS) said in a statement Tuesday. Crews arrived minutes later to see the apartment “fully engulfed in flames with fire spreading to the adjacent properties.”
Approximately 40 firefighters and nine apparatuses were on scene to quell the blaze and contain damage to the apartment building, two neighbouring houses and a detached garage to the north of the back alley.
On Tuesday morning, Pannu confirmed the fire had significantly damaged an 18-unit apartment complex at 1516 Victoria Avenue.
She said a neighbour of the development called around 9:20 p.m. Monday to alert Cara Homes that the apartment and the caller’s house next door were both on fire.
“When we got there, within five or 10 minutes everything was just burnt out. It was all on fire, the garage across the back alley, the house was on fire. It was terrible,” said Pannu, who noted the apartments were vacant.
Nearby homes also damaged by fire
Kiarra Martin lives just a few doors down from where the fire happened and said at times the flames appeared to be at least two storeys high.
“I looked out my front window and it was orange outside, and I’m like, that’s weird,” Martin recalled. “Then I opened my door and looked out and all I see is billowing flames.”
Martin evacuated Monday night on the advice of RFPS and stayed with a friend. She returned home Tuesday to a melted recycling bin and cracked house windows.
Joel Russell-MacLean said the heat was so intense it warped the plastic on cars parked across the alley and on house windows several doors down.
His garage, located across the back alley from the apartment building, and everything in it was also destroyed by the fire.
He said it was sad to see the apartments ruined because he found the developers to be really community friendly and said they were trying to add something positive to the block.
“You could tell that they were trying to make something that looked nice and fit in, and they were here every day, talking to us, to other people, helping out,” he said
“To see this happen is pretty discouraging.”
No injuries have been reported, and fire investigators were still working to determine the cause of the fire as of Tuesday afternoon, said RFPS in its statement.
Power outage and project delays
Cara Homes began construction on the lot in June. The basement and plumbing were finished, and the interior mechanical and electrical installation was to begin later this week.
“We were thinking we’d start renting out by the end of February,” Pannu noted. “It’s really too bad.”
She said the cause of the fire is still unclear, but Cara Homes’ crews secured the building and its perimeter shortly after 7 p.m. Monday night.
“When we leave at night, we always make sure that everything is locked up, the fence is closed properly,” Pannu said.
The company is also constructing a 12-unit apartment building on Toronto Avenue. Pannu said that project will likely be put on pause as the company deals with Monday’s loss.
The fire also caused a power outage in the neighbourhood, noted SaskPower in a social media post Monday night.
Areas affected by the outage included the blocks around RGH and in Broders Annex, the Warehouse District and Dewdney Place.
Most customers had power restored by midnight, SaskPower said in an emailed statement provided Tuesday afternoon. Those closest to the scene remained without power until about 3 a.m., at the request of RFPS, to ensure the safety of emergency crews while they worked.
