City estimates municipal building fires caused at least $1M in damage

The City of Calgary says, based on an initial review, the estimated cost of a series of fires set inside the city's municipal building will be at least $1.3 million. 

Much of but not all of that cost will be covered by insurance. 

Last week, police said a man gained access to the Calgary Municipal Building at about 4 a.m. on Aug. 2 by smashing the building's glass exterior and set multiple fires around the complex. 

Police took one man into custody. Police said he is a client of the Police and Crisis Team and is getting the care he needs. 

The fires activated the building's sprinkler system. Carla Male, acting city manager, said that caused extensive water damage affecting three levels of the building and equipment inside. 

"While it will be many months before we know the final cost, our team has been working hard to assess the scope of the damage and work with the city's insurer."

Based on an initial review, the anticipated cost from this incident will be between $1.3 million and $2.2 million, the city said in a media release. 

This includes the emergency response required to minimize the damage, stabilization activity, including temporary relocation of services, and restoration of the building and affected furniture and equipment. Of this, an anticipated 80 per cent will be covered by insurance.

Some affected services located on the closed floors of the building will return this month, while others will continue in their temporary locations.