Commercial Kitchen Fire - 900 block of 51st Street East
At approximately 12:13 a.m. on June 28, 2020, the Saskatoon Fire Department received a 911 call from an employee of a fast food restaurant in the 900 block of 51st Street East reporting a commercial kitchen appliance on fire. Three fire engines, one rescue unit, one aerial ladder truck, one fire investigation unit, and one battalion chief responded.
Fire crews arrived on scene in less than four minutes to find all occupants self-evacuating; it was reported that attempts by staff members to extinguish the fire were unsuccessful. Firefighters ensured utilities servicing the appliance were shut down before using a dry chemical fire extinguisher and the building's automatic extinguishing system to fully extinguish the fire; the commanding fire officer considered the loss to be stopped at around 12:44 a.m.. Fire crews established a laddered connection to the building's roof to search for possible extension of the fire; with no extension found, firefighters turned the building over to a fire investigator and returned to their stations.
A fire investigator has confirmed the fire to have been an accidental grease fire that originated inside of a commercial deep fryer. Damage has been estimated at approximately $10,000.