Calgary Fire Crews Respond to Explosion at South East Distillery

At approximately 1:20 p.m. on Tuesday, January 17, Calgary fire crews responded to a distillery located at the 1500 block of 34 Avenue S.E. for reports of an explosion.  The smoke plume could be seen from the Highfield 16 Fire Station several blocks from the incident . This prompted the fire captain to immediately call a working fire while still en-route to the  scene.

Approximately 100 employees evacuated as per their emergency protocol due to the activation of the fire alarm system. One employee was reported to be in the building where the explosion occurred but escaped without incident. No injuries were reported as a result of this explosion and resulting fire. 

The explosion occurred in an area of the complex called the ‘dry house area’ or ‘brewing area’ in the ductwork located on the roof. Damage as a result of the explosion appears to be limited to a large vessel and ductwork on the roof. The building's fire suppression system activated and started working as intended, successfully containing the fire to the area of origin. Fire crews will remain on scene until there are no further hot spots found.

A Calgary Fire Department Fire Investigator is on scene to determine the exact origin and cause of this explosion. Anybody who has photos or video of this incident to share with the investigator can email them to piofire@calgary.ca

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