75 firefighters, 25 fire trucks needed to put out blaze at Calgary auto shop
Posted Mar 16, 2026 6:22 am.
Last Updated Mar 16, 2026 4:32 pm.
A massive response was needed to put out a fire at a high-end auto shop in south Calgary early Monday morning.
The Calgary Fire Department was called to 1A Street SW, on the east side of Macleod Trail, around 4:30 a.m.
“When the initial engine arrived, they saw that there was light smoke coming from the building, it’s a two-storey industrial building,” explained Battalion Chief Scott Cowan. “When they opened the building up, there was significant fire and smoke inside.
“They were unable to make entry because of the amount of fire that was inside the building, so they surrounded the building and fought the fire from the outside initially.”
Cowan says aerial ladder trucks and aerial tower trucks were fighting the flames on three sides of the building.
“In total, it took 75 firefighters and 25 fire apparatus to put the fire out,” Cowan added.
He says the roof burned through and there’s significant damage to the building.
“The entire contents of the building are destroyed. The back wall collapsed. The cinder block wall collapsed,” Cowan continued. “So really all that’s left is just the front wall of the structure and a side wall.”
Cowan says he’s not sure exactly how many vehicles were inside, but any that were are completely destroyed.
Neighbouring businesses were left with some smoke damage, but for the most part firewalls did their jobs and kept the flames from spreading.
Nobody was inside at the time of the fire and there were no injuries.
Crews remained on scene for several hours to monitor hot spots.
An investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.
