Business as usual continues at Don and Shirley Begg’s Studio West Bronze Foundry and Art Gallery, following the Feb. 3 fire at the two-storey building on Cochrane’s Second Avenue East.
With the assistance of a crew from Rocky View Springbank Station, Cochrane Fire Services was able to get the fire under control quickly, although it took hours to be fully extinguished.
“The crews made a very big save and I commend them for this successful operation,” commented Cochrane Fire Services Chief Mac deBeaudrap in a press release. “The quick response and the actions of the firefighters on scene is the sole reason there is a building still standing.”
As of Feb. 8, the cause of the fire was not being released, although it is suspected to have been started by an electrical appliance.
The fire occurred in the sculpting studio, where the Begg’s create their artwork.
“Don and I feel like we’ve lost our life’s work, but we did it before and we’ll do it again,” said Shirley.
“We were committed to making six statues and they will get done. It just means we’ll be working a little harder.”
