Fire destroys Saskatoon home
A fire on Birch Crescent laid waste to a house and severely damaged a neighbouring one Saturday.
Trucks from three fires halls attended to the scene after receiving calls at about 5 p.m. When they arrived, the fire was fully involved, with flames visible from outside.
The call came in as a fire, which battalion chief Craig Young says is not typical. Normally callers simply report smoke.
“When it’s fully involved the fire has got to a point where it’s going to take a lot of work to put it out,” said Young, on scene at 201 Birch Crescent Saturday. Young said he could see the smoke emanating from the fire shortly after he left the firehall.
“As soon as I got to 33rd (Street) I could see the smoke. That should tell it’s burning pretty good.”
Firefighters began with an interior attack and searched the house for any occupants before it became too dangerous for them to remain inside and they deployed the aerial pump. When the thick spray of the aerial pump rained down on the roof, a massive white cloud of steam and smoke mushroomed up from the roof.
Some of the fire spread to the neighbouring residence, causing significant damage to the roof and interior. The neighbour sat slumped on the curb in shock. The back of the first house, where the fire spread to the neighbouring roof, looked like a charred black skeleton, so severe was the damage.
Dozens of other neighbours and passersby had stopped on the sidewalk to watch the conflagration, smoke wafting in their faces.
Young said an investigator will now try to determine how the fire started. “It’s just strange how a house fire gets this far away from anybody in the middle of the day.”
There were no injuries in the blaze. The resident was not at home at the time, although Young said they located his number and he has been informed about the fire.