EDMONTON – An investigation is underway in central Edmonton, where a house went up in flames and a nearby gas line melted. Fire crews were called to the Cromdale-area home, on 79th Street near 112th Avenue, around 1:40 a.m. Thursday.
“Upon arrival the whole back of the house and middle of the house was already fully involved, so the roof was already caving in,” said District Chief Brian Lees, Edmonton Fire Rescue.
Firefighters initially were told five people were in the house, but only three were accounted for.
It was later determined no one was trapped inside the home, and no one was injured.
An underground gas line in the backyard melted, said Lees, adding gas was still spewing at the back of the house.
Fire crews used one of their lines to cover the exposed gas line until ATCO Gas could come in to repair it.
“It’s dangerous because we still have small fires inside the house,” said Lees.
“So due to the unsafe conditions inside, we’re just fighting it from the outside, through the windows. We made a hole in the side of the house to get water through, to try and knock down as much as we can. Once the gas is shut off then we’ll put out the rest of the fires inside from the exterior.”
As of 5:30 a.m. crews were still at the heavily-damaged home. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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