Clean-up efforts have begun to demolish and remove several buildings in Moose Jaw that fires destroyed during the past few months and that killed two occupants of a multi-unit apartment building.
A blaze tore through the Empire Apartments on Dec. 21, 2022 around 3:17 a.m. — displacing 10 people and damaging an adjacent home — and required 24 firefighters to extinguish the fire, with four requiring medical attention afterward. Investigators later said the fire was an accident and was likely caused by a tenant’s space heater.
A fence has been around the charred building — located at the corner of Caribou Street West and Fourth Avenue Northwest — for the past five months.
Coun. Heather Eby inquired about the structure during the May 8 regular city council meeting and wondered when it would be removed.
Michelle Sanson, director of planning and development, said contractors would clean up the debris soon.
“We have a demolition permit. They are working with their insurance company to close up their (claim). They’re very close (to cleaning it up, so we’re) just receiving the final OK from them,” Sanson added.
Meanwhile, contractors have cleaned up and removed all the debris from the fire that tore through the strip mall on Thatcher Drive East on March 9. Investigators believe the fire started in an aisle at the Dollar Tree and spread to the Bulk Barn and nearby pizza business.
Three fire trucks and 18 firefighters responded, with a tower truck positioned on the east side to cover the entire strip mall and “surround and drown” the blaze. Other units also monitored the scene and several firefighters used handlines to spray areas.
The Dollar Tree and Bulk Barn were total write-offs, while the pizza shop sustained some damage. However, for safety reasons, contractors demolished the entire structure sometime in early May.
Left behind were an orange fence and the cement pad on which the businesses once sat.
Contractors are also demolishing the remains of a multi-unit apartment dwelling on the 200 block of Athabasca Street West.
A fire ripped through the building on Feb. 23 around 1:30 a.m., displacing several tenants and killing two of them. The fire department has said the cause of the blaze remains under investigation.
Contractors began demolishing the house with an excavator during the first week of May, but because the building’s floor was compromised, the machine fell through and had to be pulled out. As of May 10, workers had removed the apartment building and were cleaning up the site.
