One home destroyed, two seriously damaged in Cityscape blaze
Investigators are still trying to determine what started a fire that destroyed one home and significantly damaged two others in the northeast community of Cityscape early Wednesday morning.
Dozens of people had to be evacuated from neighbouring homes shortly after 3 a.m. Wednesday morning after fire crews were called for reports of a fire at a home under construction on Cityscape Way N.E.
Crews arrived to find the home had collapsed and the fire had spread to the roof and the second storey of two neighbouring homes, according to a spokesperson for the Calgary Fire Department.
Around 60 residents were evacuated from their homes. The residents were able to shelter temporarily in a Calgary Transit bus that was brought to the scene.
The fire had to be upgraded to a third alarm because of the harsh temperatures and difficult conditions.
“When you’re out in that cold and you’ve got water spray, you freeze up pretty quickly and it makes it a lot more challenging,” CFD spokeswoman Carol Henke said.
“We had extra crews so that we could rotate the crews through much more frequently than we would on a day where we’re not dealing with these types of temperatures.” No injuries were reported. In addition to the two neighbouring homes that were significantly damaged in the fire, six other homes sustained some exterior damage as a result of the heat from the fire.
The CFD is asking for anyone who has information or images of the fire, especially before the CFD’s arrival, to contact Henke at piofire@calgary.ca.