Building fire in St. Paul deemed accidental

A dangerous fire at a commercial building has been deemed accidental, said St. Paul Fire Chief Trevor Kotowich on Wednesday.

In the evening of Oct. 26, St. Paul Fire fought a fire for several hours that required help from the Bonnyville Regional Fire Authority and for the building at 52 St and 50 Ave in St. Paul to be demolished.

The investigation by the St. Paul Fire Department is deemed accidental, originating in the south-east corner in the ceiling/roof area, where electrical wiring was located.

The fire quickly spread through the roof structure, where multiple layers of roof materials were located, making extinguishment challenging, said St. Paul Fire.

“The St. Paul Fire Department would like to thank the RCMP, Medavie EMS, Bonnyville Regional Fire Authority, Town of St. Paul Public Works, and Steven Wychopen for their assistance. We would also like to thank 7 Eleven and Insta Pawn for providing hot coffee and snacks for the firefighters.”

There were no injuries reported.

A GoFundMe page has been created in support of the Prymych family. Organizer Christine Hanson said she hopes to raise $20,000 for Kelley Prymych and his father David. The pair are known for their love of classic cars and the one-of-a-kind replicas of Tow Mater and Lightning McQueen from Disney’s Cars which sat parked in front of the garage on Main St.

“The Disney Cars replicas projects that him and his father create are purely for the entertainment of the youth of our town, to spark positivity and creativity. Kelley tells me about the little guy he watched hugging McQueen’s tire, or the one who was walking by with his Mom and brought them in for a tour and the great satisfaction and gratification he feels from doing these things purely for the joy he sees on the little one’s faces,” wrote Hanson.

“Nothing monetary can replace the emotional sentiments that were lost but my hope is just to extend some help to offset the clean up costs of the wreckage left from the fire.”