Fire on the roof - 400 Block of 21st Street East

At 10:57 a.m. on July 8, 2022, the Saskatoon Fire Department received a call for smell of smoke inside a commercial establishment and smoke coming from the roof.  Dispatched to the fire were three fire engines, one rescue unit, one ladder truck and the Battalion Chief.  On arrival, smoke was showing from the roof but no evacuation of occupants had been initiated.  Fire crews were tasked with laddering the roof to begin extinguishment and other fire crews began evacuating the occupants to the North side of the street to keep everyone out of the smoke drift.  Approximately 130 occupants were evacuated by fire crews.  No occupants sustained injury.  An additional two fire engines were dispatched to the scene to support suppression and evacuation operations.  

The fire was contained to the roof area with smoke coming through the bathroom and furnace room ventilation system.  Fire crews had the fire under control at 11:31 p.m.  After firefighters confirmed there were no extensions or hot spots from the fire, they turned the scene over to the Fire Investigator.

Cause of the fire is from tarring being performed earlier in the day.  Origin of the fire was the roof top.  Damage is estimated at $25,000.  

Further follow up will be conducted by the Fire Prevention team of the SFD as the fire alarm was not activated by any person/staff.  It was determined that the fire alarm was not operational at the time of the fire.  Fire alarms are an alert and early warning system telling occupants that they must evacuate.  The establishment was closed down for the remainder of the night and directed to rectify immediate deficiencies prior to going back into operation.