The Pulse: Jan. 18, 2023

Edmonton's growing hydrogen economy has received another boost with the announcement of more than $9.74 million in funding through PrairiesCan to strengthen the region's hydrogen supply chain, increase access to refuelling equipment, and upgrade testing facilities.

"Acceleration of the hydrogen economy is a key pillar of the Edmonton region's low carbon economic development strategy," said Mayor Amarjeet Sohi in a news release. "These investments will further elevate and strengthen the Edmonton region's position to be a global hydrogen hub."

Edmonton Global will receive about $3.74 million to help attract foreign investors to the region and to further develop the hydrogen supply chain and labour market. The funding will support the expansion of the Canadian Hydrogen Convention — which Edmonton Global plans to increase to more than 8,000 attendees this year — and could be used to host other international events. Edmonton Global will also use the funding for a hydrogen labour market assessment in collaboration with businesses and post-secondary institutions (which was already underway), and to pursue new ways to get more businesses involved in the supply chain. In October, the agency's vice-president of global marketing and communications told Taproot that a "5,000 vehicle challenge" to help build both supply and demand for the hydrogen economy could launch in 2023.

C-FER Technologies, a subsidiary of Alberta Innovates, will receive $3 million to upgrade its testing facility for hydrogen fuel infrastructure. The organization said the funding would enable it to help businesses and regulators improve technologies for hydrogen use, and also "provide essential information needed to revise and establish new standards for the safe and reliable transportation and storage of hydrogen." C-FER already has several hydrogen-related projects underway.

The Alberta Motor Transport Association — which launched the Hydrogen Commercial Vehicle Demonstration project last fall — and the University of Alberta will receive $3 million to encourage the adoption of hydrogen fuel by Alberta's heavy vehicle sector and to carry out pilot projects in Calgary and Edmonton.

A series of hydrogen-related announcements were made across the Edmonton region in 2022, including the provincial government's Hydrogen Centre of Excellence and a number of initiatives at the Edmonton International Airport. The Edmonton Region Hydrogen HUB, which itself launched less than two years ago, is looking to build on that momentum at the 2023 Hydrogen Summit on Feb. 7. The event promises to bring together leaders and key stakeholders to set the agenda for the year ahead. Tickets are $120 plus fees, and registration is now open.

Photo: Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi (centre) joined Dan Vandal (right), the minister responsible for PrairiesCan, and associate finance minister Randy Boissonnault (left), among other dignitaries, at a hydrogen funding announcement on Jan. 17. (C-FER Technologies)

• CBC News has started posting charts of Edmonton emergency department wait times, which it notes "can fluctuate greatly from day to day, even hour by hour." The charts are updated hourly with an automated computer script using wait times reported by Alberta Health Services. The charts reveal that wait times at many hospitals spike late at night and in the early morning, which AHS said is due to lower overnight staffing levels.
• The Ukrainian Canadian Congress-Alberta Provincial Council (UCC), Ukrainian Canadian Social Services, Catholic Social Services, and the Strathcona Chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace are partnering to build beds for families who have fled the war in Ukraine. The organizations are seeking monetary donations to build the beds with locally sourced materials. The program is offered through the Ukrainian Newcomer Furniture Warehouse, which provides free furniture and other necessities to more than 75 Ukrainian families each week.
• The Canadian government is phasing in a return-to-office plan for federal employees in core public services, many of whom started working at home full time at the beginning of the pandemic. Downtown Edmonton businesses and restaurants look forward to workers returning to buildings where federal services have office space, including Canada Place. The Edmonton Downtown Business Association said employees from all levels of government make up more than 20% of downtown office workers.
• Three homeowners in the Queen Alexandra neighbourhood are taking part in a pilot project to "deep retrofit" their homes, which is a process of transforming an older house into a net-zero dwelling. Global News spoke to one of the homeowners participating in the project, Edmonton Public School Board trustee Julie Kusiek. "We're not going to reach our climate change goals by tearing down existing buildings and building new ones net-zero," said Kusiek. "We're going to have to retro-fit the buildings that already exist."
• Albertans eligible for the province's affordability payments can apply through the online portal beginning 9am on Jan. 18. Anyone unable to apply online can apply in person through any registry agent or through the Alberta Supports service centre. Everyone who receives assistance through Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH), Income Support, the Alberta Seniors Benefit, or the Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) program will receive their payments automatically.

On this day in 1913, people were still searching for survivors after one of the city's worst fires.

Newspaper accounts don't mention the cause of the fire that destroyed the Lechambre Block, but it centred on two brick warehouses on 104 Street and 102 Avenue. One was the Brackman-Ker building, owned by a Vancouver milling company of the same name. The Canadian Consolidated Rubber Company owned the other.

However it started, the fire spread quickly and engulfed both buildings. The situation was dangerous enough, but neither the firefighters nor bystanders knew how much worse it would soon become. As fire crews attempt to fight back the blaze in the frigid weather, an explosion tore through the rubber warehouse.

Seven firefighters were on the ground floor at the time and were nearly trapped by debris. They fled blindly through the smoke, and all were able to escape through the rear of the building. One of the firefighters later told a newspaper that the building was "a big bomb, waiting for only for a tongue of flame to ignite the bottled up gases." It was speculated that chemicals stored in the basement of the building might have contributed to the blast.

One of the walls of the warehouse collapsed and fell onto a neighbouring rooming house. One body was found under the collapsed wall shortly after the fire was extinguished. Two others would eventually be discovered.

The fire came at an unfortunate time. The winter of 1913 was marked by dozens of fires, which stretched rescue workers thin. Moreover, on the night of the warehouse fire, one of the city's main firefighting tools — a Morgan water pump — was out of commission after breaking down during another fire the week before.

The damage was severe enough that both buildings had to be demolished. But the land didn't stay empty for long: the Canadian Consolidated Rubber Company finished construction of a new warehouse on the same site within a couple of months. The new five-storey brick building was designed and built by the same company behind the new Macdonald Hotel, and it was constructed with the site's grim history in mind, boasting what was then the latest in fire safety technology.

The rubber company operated out of the warehouse until 1935. It was home to other industrial companies over the decades until it was converted into residences. Now known as the Cobogo Lofts, it stands as one of the distinctive sights along 104 Street. In 2001, it was designated as a Municipal Historic Resource.

The Cobogo Lofts building is one of the oldest surviving examples of Edmonton's old warehouse district. Now converted into residential and commercial buildings, such buildings provide a link to the industrial history of downtown Edmonton, as will the proposed Warehouse Park, a greenspace planned for 2025.

This is based on a clipping found on Vintage Edmonton, a daily look at Edmonton's history from armchair archivist @revRecluse — follow @VintageEdmonton for daily ephemera via Twitter.