2-alarm fire destroys northwest Calgary restaurant

Officials are investigating the cause of a fire at a northwest Calgary restaurant Monday night.

Firefighters were called to Fusion Sushi just after 10 p.m. after witnesses reported seeing smoke and fire coming from the roof of the building.

“It just went up in flames,” said Pauline Packer, who saw the fire in her home.

“They got him under control for a while and then I think after another three minutes he was back on his feet. It looked like he was standing right there, very high, on a huge flame.”

When the first trucks arrived, a second alarm was sounded due to the severity of the situation.

“Crews began attacking the fire both inside and outside the building while searching the premises,” officials said.

“Ladder trucks were used to safely gain access to the roof where firefighters were concentrated and the fire was under control.”

“No one was in the building at that time and there were no injuries,” officials said.

“It's not out of our mind, the fires could have been set, I'm not going to say all of them, but we know as a city it's a problem, there are fires that are set,” Fire said. Chief Stephen Dongworth.

Calgary police are treating the fire as not suspicious.

Crews remained on the scene through the night and the cause is still under investigation, but officials say the fire started in the roof of the building.

Gummi Boutique owner Caelen Haney said he was thankful his store next door was not damaged.

“It's a little disconcerting to see the building next to your store on fire,” he said.

“There's always a sense of dread, and we were sure everything would be fine.”

According to him, this will have a serious impact on society.

“We have Valentine's Day tomorrow, which is going to be difficult for both restaurants that are located there,” Haney said.

“It's painful. Something like this in the district makes business difficult.”

Anyone with photos, video or information about the fire is asked to email the Calgary Fire Department, especially before any crews arrive.