As police continue to investigate a devastating house fire in Lamont, Alta., last week, people in the community located about a one-hour drive northeast of Edmonton are speaking out about what they remember being a very sudden and dramatic blaze.
“(An) explosion happened and we had to rush out,” Ryan Joseph Moffat told Global News on Monday as he spoke about his frightening ordeal early Friday morning.
He said that it was late at night when he heard a smashing sound that he later learned was some of his windows being blown out because of a fire that was burning at the home next door. He said the next thing he knew, some neighbours kicked in the door and helped to safely get him, his fiancée and their three children out.
The fire destroyed one home and caused significant damage to Moffat’s home. He said the damage is so severe his family is temporarily living at his mother’s home nearby.
The circumstances surrounding the blaze are “suspicious in nature,” the RCMP said in a news release issued Saturday.
Police said the fire did not result in any injuries. Moffat, who said he has spent time as a volunteer with the Town of Lamont’s fire department, said he was grateful to firefighters for getting his dog out of his home. His cat was later found “alive somehow,” he added.
“All the windows on that side of the house had been completely blown inwards from the explosion,” he said.
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“It was really bad.”
“To our knowledge, no one was in the first building because it was under renovation,” a spokesperson for Lamont County told Global News in an email. “The first building was a complete loss and knocked down in about two hours.”
Aleasha Haukenfrers lives close to where the fire broke out and said she was sitting with a friend at her kitchen table at around 1 a.m. on Friday when they were startled by a noise.
“All of a sudden, the curtain blew in and there was this loud percussion of an explosion that just happened,” she recalled. “And it blew the curtain maybe a foot away from the window and we looked at each other.
“It was weird because, we both said to each other … ‘I’ve got a really bad feeling.’ … That’s when the boom happened.”
Haukenfrers said she alerted the fire department and was stunned by how quickly the damage unfolded. She recorded some video of the fire and shared it with Global News.
“I couldn’t believe (it),” she said. “The smoke was so thick — it was insane.
“I’m just glad nobody was hurt. Especially with there being kids around.”
Lorrie Paradis stopped by the scene of the fire on Monday and told Global News the home that was destroyed used to belong to her mother-in-law.
“Lots of memories,” she said as she fought back tears.
“It’s heartbreaking. It’s upsetting.”
Moffat said he does not have fire insurance for his home anymore, a step he and his family took to save money amid the rise in the cost of living in recent years. He said the home has been inspected since the blaze and that the damage is estimated to be anywhere between $100,000 and $200,000.
He said his mother and his aunt have launched an online fundraiser to help his young family deal with what happened. He said the room his two oldest children slept in is “completely gone” but that thanks to the generosity of the community, they at least have the essentials they need.
–with files from Global News’ Kabi Moulitharan
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