posted 11-07-2017 01:12 AM                       

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A movie theatre under construction in southeast Calgary has been badly damaged by fire.

The fire department was called to the soon-to-open Cineplex theatre in Seton at about 7 p.m. Sunday night.

The first crew to arrive struck a second alarm when they saw a large amount of heavy smoke coming from the building, fire officials said in a release.

About 50 firefighters, using 13 pieces of apparatus, worked through the night to bring the flames under control.

To limit their exposure to the cold, crews worked in rotating shifts, spraying water from above.

It's not yet known what caused the fire.

Fire officials are asking members of the public to send photos or video — especially of the scene before firefighters arrived — to piofire@calgary.ca.

A spokesperson for Cineplex says it's too soon to say how much the fire will delay the opening of the theatres in Seton.

Fire investigators were not immediately able to enter the building because the fire caused one of the walls to bow, making it structurally unsound, said spokesperson Carol Henke.

"You can see where the wall is damaged due to fire. That is one theatre and that is where we believe the fire originated," she said.

"Now, fire crews did a good job and kept the fire contained to that area, but there will be some smoke damage throughout the building."

Seton Way and Seton Drive S.E. were closed Monday morning because of the fire, the city tweeted.

When Cineplex Entertainment announced plans for the new theatre in 2012, the company said it would be the first in Calgary to feature VIP auditoriums.

The 43,000-square-foot complex was planned to have 11 screens with more than 1,900 seats.

A spokesperson for Cineplex said the company is thankful that there were no injuries in the fire.

"At this time we are assessing the damage so it would be speculative for us to provide a timeline for when the theatre will open," said Sarah Van Lange in an email to CBC News.

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