March 14, 2003: Overnight fire destroys historic buildings on Whyte Avenue

Fifteen years ago, the corner of 104th Street and Whyte Avenue went up in flames, leaving several businesses in ruin.

The blaze broke out at around 10 p.m. on March 13 and tookfirefighters almost four hours to bring the fire under control.

Uncle Albert's Pancake House, New York Bagel Cafe and a pet store, Scales and Tails,wereconsumed by the fireand later demolished.

The following day, Mayor Bill Smith surveyed the damage on the popularWhyte Avenue corner.

"I'm sure everybody realizes that this is just a terrible disaster," Smith said.

Nobody was hurt in the fire, thoughsome animals at thepet store were killed.

Once the cleanup was complete, buildingswith facades that fit in with thearea's historic characterreplaced those lost to in the fire.

Near the end of March 2003, the fire was ruled accidental, with damages pegged at$3 million.

In the video, CBC's James Cudmoreshows the scale of the fire and how Whyte Avenue changed overnight.