A fire at the local Good Earth Coffeehouse set off alarms and drew a response from Airdrie Fire Department (AFD), but was extinguished by the time crews arrived.
According to Deputy Fire Chief Garth Rabel, 14 firefighters responded to a fire alarm at the cafe – located on the 1000 block of MacKenzie Way SW – at shortly before 9:15 p.m. Aug. 26.
“When fire crews arrived on scene they found that alarm bells were ringing and heavy smoke conditions were showing on the interior of the cafe which is on the west end of the multi-unit commercial condominium complex,” Rabel said.No employees or customers were in the cafe at the time of the fire, Rabel said, and by the time the AFD arrived, the cafe's overhead fire sprinklers had put out the flames.
“That is exactly what is supposed to happen,” he added. “The sprinkler system worked very effectively.”
The water supply to the sprinkler system was shut down and fans ventilated smoke from the area, he said.
According to Rabel, crews inspected the complex to ensure water and smoke had not extended to adjacent businesses. Carbon monoxide levels were also inspected to confirm the businesses were safe to open the next day, he added.
"The damage was limited to the coffee house itself," Rabel said.
Five pieces of apparatus were on scene and mutual support from the Crossfield Fire Department was requested.
“They arrived on scene but they weren’t kept for very long,” he said. “We had the incident well under control.”
Rabel said no injuries were reported and the Fire Prevention Bureau continues to investigate the cause and final damage estimates of the fire, which he said will likely be released by early next week.
“Our thoughts are with the owners of the business and hopefully they’ll be able to continue to move forward with repairs, remediation and get the business back open,” Rabel said.
