Fire destroys Second World War hangar at former Edmonton airport
By The Canadian Press on April 22, 2024.
EDMONTON – An aircraft hangar built during the Second World War at Edmonton’s former municipal airport has been destroyed by fire. A spokesman for the City of Edmonton says in an email that firefighters were called to the structure on the eastern side of the former downtown airfield just before 7 p.m. Monday. The email notes 11 fire crews were eventually dispatched to the scene to deal with the heavy smoke and flames, and the wooden building later collapsed. No injuries have been reported. According to the city’s website, Hangar 11 was built in 1942 in partnership with the U.S. Army Air Force and functioned as part of work to move American bombers, fighters and transport planes through to Alaska and the Soviet Union. The airport was closed in 2013 for residential redevelopment, and the city’s website says Hangar 11, under threat of demolition, made the 2017 National Trust for Canada’s Top 10 Endangered Places List. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2023. 8-7
