WATCH ABOVE: An investigation is underway after a massive condominium fire in northeast Edmonton Friday. Eric Szeto has the details.
EDMONTON – A Clareview condo building that caught fire Friday evening will be a total loss.
About $16.3 million in damage was done the building, after a fire broke out shortly before 5 p.m. Friday.
Edmonton Fire Rescue crews were called to the four-storey building on Clareview Station Drive around 4:50 p.m. Heavy black smoke and flames could be seen for blocks, coming from the top of the building. Within minutes, a second alarm was called and shortly after, a third.
Upwards of 200 people were forced from their homes while crews battled the blaze. Yaser Monsour, who lived on the first floor of the building, was sleeping when the fire alarm went off.
“I asked everybody to leave, grab my dog and I walked into the first floor actually, and the second floor, making sure all of the neighbours were out of that scene,” he said.
“I kept looking … and I can see it, it’s just going and going and they’re doing the best and there’s more firefighters showing up.”
People in the building across the parking lot were also forced out, but were able to return home Friday night.
About 155 people that fire crews know of have been displaced from the directly affected area. Fire officials say they are still waiting to hear from the residents of 28 suites.
“If you haven’t been in contact with us please contact us,” said Captain Kevin Bureau with Edmonton Fire Rescue. “We need to speak with them to see if they need any assistance going forward.”
Fire crews said Saturday it will be some time before those in the affected wing of the building will be able to return home.
“To be honest, it’s going to be a very long time because they’re considering this right now more or less a complete fire loss,” said Bureau.
“So it’s going to be stripped down to the bare studs. The top floor is going to be isolated and they’re going to be rebuilding because there’s extensive water and smoke damage throughout the entire building, and then not to mention the fire damage on the fourth floor.”
The property management company has hired 24-hour security to prevent looting.
On Friday evening, Edmonton Fire Chief Ken Block said it’s believed the fire started on the balcony of a third or fourth-floor unit and quickly spread into the attic.
“In the attic, it’s really an unprotected space. So once that fire extends into the attic space we’ve got big problems,” he said Friday night.
Block said the fire was extremely difficult to fight. He explained that fires in four-story buildings are hard to fight because they’re essentially high-rise buildings on their sides.
“If you can visualize that structure standing up, you’re looking at a 10 or a 12-storey building,” he said. “It’s a very difficult fire to fight. The type of construction we’re looking at is very vulnerable to this type of fire, especially if it starts on the outside of the building.
“It’s a son of a gun to fight and it’s very difficult to extinguish.”
WATCH: Edmonton fire chief speaks about fighting the difficult condo blaze in Clareview
About 60 firefighters spent hours battling the blaze Friday. Two firefighters suffered minor injuries in the fire, but were said to be in good condition Saturday.
“Firefighting is an inherently dangerous business and when you get a fire moving that quickly, with that amount of energy and heat, a structure can fail very quickly.”
One resident sustained minor smoke inhalation.
Block estimates there are 80 to 100 units in the building. Fire crews contained the blaze to one section of the building; that section is expected to be a complete loss.
“The people in the affected wing of this building, no, they’re not coming home tonight,” said Block.
WATCH: Raw video of the condo fire from the Global 1 news helicopter, as of 5 p.m. and 6:25 p.m. Friday.
A reception centre was set up at the Clareview Recreation Centre Friday night for those impacted by the fire. The Red Cross has been called in to help displaced residents.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
If you’d like to help, Edmonton Emergency Relief is collecting household items for those affected by the fire.
“Right now is the dire need for everything to get rolling into action because of how many people we have. We need to be sure that there is housing available, that people are taken care of, they do have their basic needs, they have a comfort feeling that there is some hope after this,” said Nicole Geoffroy with Edmonton Emergency Relief.
“Their basic needs are going to include your basic toiletries,” Geoffroy added. “So that’s toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, conditioner, towels.”
Items can be dropped off at the warehouse, located at 10255 – 104 Street. For more information, visit their website.
A townhall meeting will be held for residents at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Clareview Recreation Centre in multi-purpose room four. Residents must bring ID to prove they own a unit in the suite. More information on if and when residents will be allowed to return to their suites will be provided at the meeting.
The following social media gallery was compiled by SAM. Click ‘next’ to view the photos.
*Editor’s note: This story was originally posted around 5 p.m. Friday, May 22, 2015. It has been updated several times, most recently at 5 p.m. Saturday.
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