'Devastating' fire at Alberta dealership leaves 60 out of work

EDMONTON -- Fire destroyed the Edson Chrysler Dodge Jeep dealership early Monday morning, leaving dozens of employees out of work.

The first call for the fire came in around 3:40 a.m.

"When we first got here, on arrival, the front of the building was fully involved," Edson Fire Chief Tyler Robinson told CTV News Edmonton.

The fire was so large, Edson firefighters called in help from Yellowhead County.

"When we saw the magnitude of the incident, we already had two engines and a tanker from Edson coming, we immediately notified Yellowhead County."

Dwight Kennedy owns the building and lives next door. He said he could hear explosions.

"I imagine the gas tanks and gas blew up," he told CTV News.

Damage to the dealership

Most of the building was destroyed, including the showroom, offices and more than half of the mechanical bays.

Three new vehicles in the showroom were destroyed, as were seven customer vehicles in the service area. However, more than a hundred vehicles outside on the lot were saved.

Robinson says the wash bays, which were separate, and a small part of the service area, are the only part of the dealership that might be salvageable. The rest of the building is a write-off.

"It’s under threat of collapse at any time."

Robinson is commending his team on fighting what he calls a difficult blaze.

"Because of the new vehicles and the combustibles inside the vehicle, for sure it added to the load of the fire."

"I’m very proud of the membership, and the job they did."

No injuries have been reported.

Out of work

The cause of the fire has not been determined. The department will be working with RCMP on the investigation.

Kennedy says the building and its contents were insured, but he won’t be able to cover the 60 employees who work at the dealership.

"It’s bad at Christmas too. They’re not going to have any paycheques for a while so that’s devastating."

Kennedy owns a business next door to the dealership. He hopes to take on some of the employees there in the interim.

Second fire in Edson

The fire at the dealership wasn’t the only fire in Edson on Monday morning. Shortly after crews called in help from Yellowhead County, they received a call about a vehicle fire on the other side of town.

"We were already on scene, and we had our mutual aid partners from Yellowhead County on the way here, so we actually diverted them and had them work on the vehicle fire while we worked on the structure fire."

Robinsin said it’s too early to say if the two fires are connected.