Neighbours of a Calgary woman who died in her apartment after an explosion and fire ripped through her suite say they were unable to break down the door to free her from the burning unit.
An explosion rocked the King Tower on 6 Street S.E. Friday afternoon at around 3:45. The force destroyed the wall of a nearby suite.
“It blew the one piece right off. It blew me off the couch. It blew my couch about five feet,” said Marvin, who didn’t want to give his last name. Marvin lives next to the suite where the explosion happened. He was transported to the hospital on Friday.
The Calgary Fire Department said members encountered heavy smoke and flames coming from a suite on the fourth floor.
They were able to contain the fire and prevent it from spreading to other units but one person from the suite where the explosion occurred was found deceased inside.
Fire investigators are still trying to determine the origin and cause of the explosion and subsequent fire.
Marvin was taken to hospital with minor injuries. However, far worse than that, he said, was hearing his neighbour cry for help from behind her locked door.
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Marvin and his friend Donny said their neighbour was screaming that she couldn’t open the deadbolt because her hands were burned. He said he tried to force the door open.
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Marvin said he tried to reach her through his damaged suite but was blocked by the heavy smoke.
“She was screaming and me and him were trying to open the door, but we couldn’t get in so I tried to go into my suite and go through the wall, but I couldn’t breathe because it was full of black smoke,” Marvin said.
France, another woman who lives on the fourth floor, said five units on the fourth floor are now boarded up, including hers. She described the victim as a “quiet, nice woman”
Residents who know the woman who died said she was a good neighbour.
“She was a beautiful lady — never hurt anybody,” Marvin said. He said the victim did not use an oxygen tank.
People living in the building say they want answers, wondering how this could have happened and why anyone didn’t have a key for the victim’s apartment.
Despite doing everything they could, Marvin and Donny said they are dealing with feelings of guilt and horror.
“I don’t really care what happens to me but it was just so bad to hear her scream like that,” said Donny.
The King Tower offers subsidized housing for people 60 and older and is managed by the Trinity Place Foundation of Alberta
In a statement to Global News, Paul Dhaliwal, the director of operations for Trinity Place Foundation of Alberta, said this was an isolated incident and that residents are safe. People in damaged units have been moved to other units in the building until their homes can be repaired.
Dhaliwal said they are working with police and fire to determine the specific cause.
Fire investigators are still trying to determine the origin and cause of the explosion and subsequent fire.
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