Downtown building in Moose Jaw burns to the ground

A pile of rubble was all that remained of a century-old brick building at 125 3rd Ave. NW, near Moose Jaw’s downtown after a massive fire.

A fire was reported in the early morning hours on Oct. 16 on the corner of 3rd Avenue NW and River Street West.

The Moose Jaw Fire Department responded to the blaze around 2 a.m. on Sunday.

However, by that time the building was already showing flames and smoke.

Firefighters went on the defensive and focused on keeping the fire from spreading.

“As the fire progressed, it started to collapse so our crews had to make sure that they were outside of the collapse zone,” Deputy Fire Chief Mike Russell of the Moose Jaw Fire Department explained.

“As it was coming down, all personnel were outside of that collapse zone as well. We were in defensive mode for the majority of this fire call which means we were hitting it from outside that collapse zone.”

The roofs of nearby buildings were constantly checked to ensure no structural damage was being done.

Three fire engines and every on-duty firefighter in Moose Jaw responded to the blaze, according to the department.

Nine additional firefighters were called to assist the situation throughout the night.

The building was vacant at the time of the fire. The Moose Jaw Police Service and Fire Department are conducting a joint investigation to determine the cause of the incident.