Gordon Block building in downtown Regina to be demolished following fire

Gordon Block, the century old municipal heritage building in Regina's downtown will be demolished following a fire over the weekend.

Gordon Block, the century old municipal heritage building in Regina’s downtown will be demolished following a fire over the weekend.

Fire investigators say the walls of the building need to come down before they can safely search for the cause and for any potential victims.

“We can’t get in. It’s unstable. It’s burning inside,” said fire marshal Randy Ryba.

“It’s structurally unstable as we speak and we’re going to have to bring heavy equipment in to start nibbling away at the top of it to get it to where it’s safe and not collapse on us and finish the extinguishment.”

The fire started before sunrise on Sunday and did not spread to adjacent occupied structures.

Those who stopped by during the day say it was a significant blaze.

“It was like huge flames and explosions coming out the window and there must have been a dozen fire vehicles, rescue vehicles, ambulances,” said Robert Taylor, who witnessed the blaze.