Shoppers evacuated from Edmonton mall
edmontonjournal.com
June 2, 2009
EDMONTON - Hundreds of shoppers were evacuated from Edmonton's Westmount Shopping Centre on Tuesday after fire broke out in the Shoppers Drug Mart.
The fire, which started in the drug-store ceiling, was called in at 12:20 p.m. No one was injured, and by early afternoon, it was contained but not out. "They're still working with some hot spots in that roof," said deputy fire chief Jan Haak "It's really awkward to get at it."
Fire crews found smoke and a few flames confined to the ceiling when they arrived in the store at 13310 111th Ave. Ten crews were in and around the building with axes and crowbars as smoke seeped through the skylights on the roof.
"There was a kind of chemical smell, like something electrical was burning," said Nancy Cheyne, whyo was eating lunch at the mall when the alarm went off.
"It's a busy time of day," said Home Depot manager Jeff Tymo, whose 60 employees helped with crowd control, getting cars out of the parking lot after the evacuation. "A lot of orange aprons standing around are good pylons," he joked.
His store is right beside the Shoppers Drug Mart, but a firewall between them probably provided enough protection, he said. So far, his store had no damage.
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