(Red Deer Emergency Services/Zhihao Zhong)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

not as bad as it looked

Tire fire in Red Deer causes alarm Sunday night

May 2, 2021 | 10:10 PM

Black smoke billowed into the air Sunday evening in Red Deer’s Grandview neighbourhood.

Red Deer Emergency Services responded around 6:45 to NAPA Autopro at the intersection of 40 Avenue and Ross Street.

Thankfully, says Platoon Chief Chuck Ruether, the fire looked worse than it actually was.

“There was a shed and some tires that created a lot of smoke, so the appearance looked like a big fire,” he says. “For a short time, it was a pretty dark cloud, but it was just a shed fire that had extended to some tires.”

Ruether says the shed is on NAPA’s property, adding there was also some minor damage to the auto garage’s exterior.

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No one was injured, and there were no evacuations or road closures. The fire was extinguished in a short amount of time, and no homes were damaged as the business is some distance from any residences.

Zhihao Zhong, RDES Fire Investigator, says preliminary findings lead him to believe the fire couldn’t have started on its own. He says at this time the fire is deemed suspicious, but it’s too early to call it arson.