A fire at a south Edmonton apartment building over the weekend was deliberately set, according to Edmonton Fire Rescue Services.
At about 5:30 a.m. Saturday, fire crews were called to a building in the area of 80th Avenue and 106th Street, for reports of a fire inside the building’s parkade.
The fire got into the roof of the building, and all of the building’s 25 units were evacuated as crews worked to douse the blaze.
In an update Monday morning, EFRS said the fire “originated with a deliberately set fire which was believed to have been used for warmth and ended up becoming uncontrolled.”
ERFS said the fire spread vertically up the side of the building and into the roof.
The Edmonton Police Service is involved in the investigation.
Damages to the building are pegged at $5 million, according to EFRS.
No injuries were reported.
Majdi Almejdlr has been living in the apartment building for over a year. He was at work when the fire broke out and arrived back home at around 7 a.m. Saturday.
“I got shocked. I got scared,” he said. “I wasn’t able to get anything out… Technically, we lost everything.”
He said he spoke to the supervisor of the building.
“He told me someone was sleeping in the underground parking. He (started) the fire … to get himself warmed up because it was really cold and then the flame happened.”
Almejdlr said he doesn’t have tenant’s insurance but Red Cross put up the displaced residents in a hotel for a few days.
“I might go to an Airbnb, a friend’s place or rent,” he told Global News.
With files from Emily Mertz, Global News