Edmonton firefighters were called to a house fire in the Aspen Gardens neighbourhood just south of Whitemud Drive on Wednesday evening.
Edmonton Fire Rescue Services received calls about the blaze shortly before 11 p.m.
The fire was at a single-family home under construction in the area of 42 Avenue and 122 Street NW.
EFRS said firefighters arrived at the scene three minutes after getting the call and found the home engulfed in flames.
Jenny Mckearney, who lives across the street, said her daughter took the dog outside last night around 10:30 or 11 p.m.
“She said, ‘Mommy, the house across the road is on fire,'” Mckearney said Thursday morning.
Mckearney said the owners of the home had been renovating for about a year and a half. They aren’t currently living in the home, but are staying just across the road.
“Within two minutes, the house had gone from a little fire to an absolute inferno,” she said. “There were a few little explosions, which was quite scary.”
She said all of the neighbours got out of their homes and gathered near her house. She said the fire was like nothing she’d ever seen before.
“Crazy,” she said. “Just the heat from it. It was a minus 20-something night, it was so cold, but it was so hot outside. The fire was massive. There were plumes all over, there was ash falling — hot ash — as we stood there watching it. I’ve never seen anything like that in my life before.
“Really, really, really scary. And of course, we were just scared because we didn’t know what an explosion would look like or what would happen.
“The power of fire was evident here last night.”
Some of the neighbouring homes sustained melted siding, but were otherwise saved from the fire. Mckearney said she’s devastated for the homeowners.
“They’re so lovely and they’ve been doing a beautiful reno on the house. Thankfully, they weren’t there. They were living across the road. So there were no possessions in there and no people, which is the main thing.”
At height of the fire, EFRS said they had five firetrucks at the scene, including a tanker.
Crews were able to get the fire under control by 11:30 p.m.
No injuries were reported.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. There is no word yet on the cost of the damage.
Comments