As if the recent wildfire and evacuation was not enough a downtown Fort McMurray building was destroyed by a fire just days after the city finally reopened and evacuees started returning home. The Wood Buffalo RCMP has assured the public that the fire was not related to the wildfire but the exact cause of the blaze has not been identified yet. The Cassia Manor apartment complex was situated close to the corner of Marshall Street and Franklin Avenue, and it is part of the larger Franklin Landing complex. Firefighters arrived at approximately 8 pm to try to put out the blaze, which had engulfed many apartments on the top floors and spread very fast according to witnesses. Syncrude firefighting crews were also brought in to get the fire under control, and a light drizzle offered some much needed help in this area.

The fire at the downtown Fort McMurray apartment complex was mostly under control by 10 pm, but a thick smoke lingered for hours afterward. According to employees at the Home Hardware store located across the street from where the blaze happened there have been restoration crews working on the apartment building in recent days. Residents from nearby buildings were evacuated as a precaution but the flames did not spread beyond the initial building. Returning Fort McMurray resident Paul Cardinal, who lives in a different apartment complex, told reporters “I am happy to be home, but this is starting to confirm what so many people were saying before and what I started to suspect when I saw Waterways when I drove home, and that is the city is not safe yet. Fires happen everywhere. I just want to believe my city is safe.”