Bay back to business after fire scare

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This article was published 18/06/2009 (5670 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG — After a brief scare, it’s back to business for the 50 employees of the downtown Bay department store.

Electrical power to the Bay and adjoining parkade was knocked out just after 11 a.m. after a minor explosion in an underground hydro vault Manitoba Hydro spokesman Glenn Schneider said.

A secondary explosion caused smoke to seep out through a manhole cover and underground to the basement of the Bay, where fire alarms went off.

The Winnipeg Fire Department responded and the store was evacuated.

The explosions were caused by an electrical shortage, both Hydro and the fire department confirmed.

There were 50 customers inside at the time, said an HBC spokesman.

One customer was left trapped in the elevator between the fourth and fifth floor for 30 minutes when the fire alarm cut off power. The customer was rescued when the fire department and elevator company conducted a sweep of the building.

Memorial Boulevard was shut down near the downtown store, and Hydro is still on the scene completing repair, said the fire department spokesman.

Power was restored at 2 p.m., and the Bay resumed operations just after 4 p.m., said the HBC spokesman.
There were no injuries and no merchandise was damaged.