Man in custody after fire rips through Ginger Beef Bistro House on Macleod Trail

A man who is a "person of interest" has been taken into custody, according to the Calgary Police Service, after a fire that engulfed a south Calgary restaurantand partially shut down a stretch of Macleod Trail on Monday.

No other details were available as of 4:30 p.m. Monday, police told CBC News.

Officials had said earlier Monday that the fire was being investigated as suspicious.

TheCalgary Fire Department saidcrewsresponded to multiple calls that smoke and flames were pouring out of the Ginger Beef Bistro House at9629 Macleod Trail S.W. around 6:20 a.m.

Mikaela Mill said flames had engulfed the restaurant by the time she arrived across the street to use a gym at about6:15 a.m.

"It was already just going up in flames,"Mill said.

"The whole restaurant was on fire, but it was just like a big smoke cloud with flames in it."

Two alarm fire destroys South Calgary restaurant

3 years ago

Duration 1:00

Suspected arson burned the Ginger Beef restaurant to the ground and closed part of MacLeod Trail during rush hour this morning.

Restaurant owner James Leungfound out about the fire when hissecurity companynotified him that a motion sensor had been triggered around 6:20 a.m.

"Then, the security alarm went off so by the time we went there, the fire department and and police [were] already there," Leung told CBC News.

Leung said he feelslucky no employees or customers were inside.

He hadn't yet been allowed to see the extent of the damage, asinvestigators had to finish inspecting the property.

But by looking at it from the outside, Leung estimated half of the restaurant has burned down.

"To rebuild [the] restaurant, it's going to take a long time," Leung said.

"Of course, I feel sad. Like, the business hasbeen there for so many years, and all of a sudden, the fire destroyed everything."

Arson suspected

The fire department said the blaze was suspicious in nature.One of its investigatorsand Calgary Police Service arson detectiveswere called in to probe the fire's origin and cause.

The blaze appeared to have started outside of the buildingand extended to the roof before quickly spreading inside, the fire department said.

The department said the call was upgraded to a two-alarm fire by the first captain to arrivebecause ofthe volume of smoke and flames at the scene. Part of the roof collapsed as firefighters fought the blaze.

It was brought under control around 7 a.m.No injuries were reported.

"We managed to keep the fire from impinging on a neighbouring structure," Battalion Chief Keith Stahltold CBC News later Monday morning.

"But crews are going to remain on scene for the next several hours assisting investigators and putting out hot spots."

The department asked that anyone who has photos or video of the blaze especially prior to fire department's arrival on scene to email them topiofire@calgary.ca.

The fire affected southbound traffic for a few hours.

The City of Calgary's transportation department tweeted shortly before 7 a.m. thatMacleod Trailwas closed to southbound trafficbetween 90th Avenueand Southland Driveand northbound Macleod Trail was temporarily restricted to two lanes.

By 8:45 a.m., it was clear in both directions.