With only moments to spare, a family of six–including two young children–were alerted of a fire next door to their Calgary home Tuesday night.
The blaze had engulfed one unit in their townhouse complex in the 1200 block of Falconridge Drive N.E.
“I was about to sleep. We hear our doorbell. It was the neighbour. He was all burnt,” said Ashaar, who lives next door.
“He told us, ‘get out and call the cops.’ Then we all got out.”
The man who alerted them lived in the unit destroyed by fire.
He helped warn neighbours, despite suffering severe burns to his hands and face.
He was rushed to hospital and was in stable and non-life threatening condition Wednesday.
“Often we hear of people who spot a fire and go door to door, waking people up,” Calgary Fire Department spokesperson Carol Henke said.
“We are so thankful for that. We just don’t want people to put themselves in harm’s way. Fire travels so quickly; it doubles in size every 30 to 60 seconds.”
Ashaar said the injured neighbour lived alone in the townhouse and they didn’t know him well.
Azmat Abbasi lives one door down from the fire. His home wasn’t damaged by the fire, but his basement received some water damage.
Small pools of water remain, but he knows he’s lucky.
Ashaar’s family is staying with friends at the moment. They won’t be able to return home because of extensive damage to their attic.
Calgary Housing manages the subsidized property, which is owned by the province. Calgary Housing said its staff will help to relocate those affected.
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