October 14, 2007 (Edmonton, AB) — A massive fire completely destroyed River Valley Cycle and Snowboards in Edmonton, Alberta this past Tuesday according to reports on CBC and the Edmonton Journal. Staff noticed the fire at around 3 pm in the south side store on 75th St NW near the corner of Argyll Rd NW. The fire apparently started in the back storage room in a container where high-end mountain bikes were kept.

Snowboard manager Jordan Hall, who dialled 911, reported that, “nobody knows what really started the fire.” Cardboard packaging provided ample fuel for the fire and after initially fighting it with extinguishers, all of the staff were quickly evacuated.

Within 20 minutes of the fire starting, fire units were calling for reinforcements. Twelve fire crews and a crane eventually were battling the fire in windy conditions. Heavy black smoke caused police to shut down traffic for several blocks and a dozen cars at the adjacent Nicholson Chevrolet Oldsmobile were totalled by the fire. Various estimates put total damage caused by the fire at $3 million and damage to the store alone at $2 million.

Edmonton Fire Services spokesperson Nikki Booth noted that the building “had a high fuel load inside, it had a lot of bikes, snowboards and skateboards, so the fire spread very quickly.”

Store co-owner, Mark Chambers, said that the 25-year-old store would be rebuilt. River Valley Cycle rented the building from Nicholson Chevrolet Oldsmobile.

A message on the store website says: “Due to the recent fire that has destroyed the store, we will be closed for a short period while we clean up and plan for the future. We do have email again!” The emails of the three store owners, Tom McKee, Mark Chambers, and Syd Jacklin are listed at www.rvcns.com.