Fire forces Edmonton condo evacuation

EDMONTON – Residents were forced out of their homes early Thursday morning after a fire broke out inside a river valley condo building.

Crews were called to 98 Ave. and 96A St. in the Cloverdale neighbourhood around 3:30 a.m. after receiving reports of smoke in the building.

“I guess somebody up on the fourth floor by the elevator saw the wall bubbling and could smell smoke and phoned 911, and that’s what set off the alarms,” said resident Adam Mandryk.

When firefighters went inside the building, they found smoke in the fourth floor hallway.

“Once they opened up the walls there was fire in the walls. Typically fire grows upwards and outwards, so the natural progression is to go into the attic space,” explained Chief Randy Shakura, Edmonton Fire Rescue. “We’ve exposed that, and we’re in the process of determining how much damage there is.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Once they opened up the walls there was fire in the walls. Typically fire grows upwards and outwards, so the natural progression is to go into the attic space," explained Chief Randy Shakura, Edmonton Fire Rescue. "We've exposed that, and we're in the process of determining how much damage there is."

The extent of the damage is not yet known.