‘Suspicious’ blaze damages two homes

Arson investigators have been called in after a fire Wednesday morning that heavily damaged two homes in the northwest.

Fire crews were called to Panamount Common N.W. around 3 a.m. and found two homes with heavy smoke and flames shooting from the buildings.

Crews called for a second alarm, doubling the number of firefighting units needed to control the blaze.

Two homes on the block were badly damaged. Most of the top floor of one two-storey house was gutted, while the roof of another home was burned and blackened.

Carol Henke, public information officer with the Calgary Fire Department, said arson investigators have been called in and the fire is being “considered suspicious.”

A Calgary Police Service spokesperson confirmed the fire is actively being investigated as an arson.

The fire department said 16 homes were briefly evacuated as a precaution.

An EMS spokesperson said paramedics attended the call but no one was injured.

A third home was damaged by water as crews worked to knock down the blaze.

Arthur Wong lives in the third home and said he was at work when he got a frightening call from his wife around 3 a.m.

“She noticed a light coming from the washroom and thought it was me (with a cellphone),” Wong said.

He says his wife looked outside and got their kids and extended family out of the home when she saw flames coming from the house next door.

Firefighters could be seen dousing hot spots hours after the fire.