Editor’s Note: “This story includes a 2023 quote from Brenda Mydlak, when her last name was Erdmann”
Edmonton fire crews were busy late Wednesday battling a blaze at a used building materials warehouse off Kingsway Avenue.
Edmonton Fire got the 911 call around 9:30pm to attend the family-run Architectural Clearinghouse on 119 Street near 115 Avenue.
District Chief Darren Rachkewich said a second alarm had to be called, meaning a total of nine crews responded.
“When crews arrived on scene there was heavy fire and smoke,” he explained.
“So there was no interior attack initiated at that time. It was just a defensive attack.”
The fire raged Wednesday night as crews worked to get the blaze under control.
Eric Beck / Global News
The Architectural Clearinghouse salvages used building materials and sells them at a discounted price. It has been around since 1988.
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In an interview with Global News in 2023, operations manager Brenda Erdmann (now Mydlak) explained how the business works: “We’ll go into a house that’s coming down or being completely renovated and we will salvage anything that’s worth salvaging.”
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“Sometimes we go into the house, sometimes the homeowner brings it to us, sometimes the contractors bring it to us.”
Some of the items have historical value, including pieces from Fort Edmonton before it did renovations.
Mydlak was visibly upset when she arrived on scene Thursday morning.
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“I came down and it was… basically gone,” she said, watching as a backhoe dismantled the fire-ravaged building.
“I don’t even have words – it was shocking, it was devastating, this is how we feed our families and pay our bills and now we don’t know how we’re going to do that.”
Mydlak said she ran the storefront while her brother ran the business operations.
She said since Wednesday night the family has been getting messages of support online – which helps dull the pain.
There’s also been concern expressed for their shop cat, Stanley, who she confirmed died a month earlier.
She’s grateful no people, or pets, were injured in the fire.
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“Family is everything and everything else is just everything else,” Mydlak said.
Damage to the building from the fire was severe — the roof caved in.
“It’s so sad to see your life’s work and your Dad’s life’s work go up in flames.”
Mydlak believes everything inside is a loss.
“It’s all the stuff we’ve been collecting. The glass door knobs from 1925, the five panel fir doors… It’s all the stuff that is irreplaceable and that’s all inside.”
District Chief Rachkewich said it’s more difficult to fight a fire like this “because it’s a heavy fuel load, a lot of combustibles inside the building.”
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Mydlak said some items that were outside in their storage yard may be saved, as well as their cube van.
There’s no word yet on a cause but fire investigators remained at the scene Thursday afternoon.
The Architectural Clearinghouse following Wednesday night’s fire.
Quinn Ohler / Global News
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