By James Wood

South Railway fire deemed suspicious

Aug 31, 2017 | 8:56 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB- An afternoon fire in Medicine Hat has been deemed suspicious by the local fire department.

Firefighters first responded to a grass fire on the north side of Industrial Avenue on Wednesday afternoon, shortly after 3:00 p.m. The flames were in the brush, and units from two stations were involved in putting out the fire.

However, while engaged in putting out the first fire, smoke was observed coming from an area further down the rail line, on the south side of the tracks in the area. A structure was on fire near Moritz Masonry and Tile Supply, located at 1006 South Railway Street.

According to Deputy Fire Chief Lance Purcell, both the abandoned structure and four to five vehicles went up in flames at the second scene, with investigators deeming the incident suspicious. He did not provide details as to why the investigators made that determination, due to the ongoing investigation.

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“All the vehicles are write-offs,” said Purcell.

“There was an older abandoned building there, that was destroyed, and there was some damage to a container on the REDI lot.”

Fire investigators are still at the scene as of Thursday morning, according to Purcell. A total of 22 firefighters were involved in both fires, along with four trucks at both scenes.

There were no injuries as a result of either fire. Both are being treated as separate incidents as of this writing.

Medicine Hat police are handing the fire investigation.

-with files from Leah Murray