An early-morning blaze forced fire crews to evacuate a north Edmonton apartment complex Sunday.
Fire officials said 10 firetrucks and 40 firefighters responded to a call at 118 Avenue and 86 Street at around 3:45 a.m.
They said the fire began in a top floor suite at the back of the building and all 10 suites were evacuated.
No injuries were reported but one person was transported to hospital for reasons unrelated to the fire, according to officials.
Fire officials indicated it was not clear when residents would be able to return home.
“We’re in the process right now of working with people that may have been displaced and getting them places.” District Chief Randy Shakura, with Edmonton Fire Rescue Services, said Sunday morning.
By Sunday afternoon, the Canadian Red Cross said it was helping at least 11 people affected by the blaze.
“Practical support,” is how Luc Bouchard with the Canadian Red Cross described the kind of help his organization was providing. “Mostly lodging, clothing, food and perhaps other specific needs, perhaps medication if people have lost their medication.”
Noel Toma is one of the tenants displaced by the fire. She said she was sleeping when the fire alarm woke her up. According to her, a number of tenants went knocking on doors to make sure everyone got out of the building.
Toma said it was only once tenants were outside that they realized how dangerous the situation was.
“The fire department started showing up and we were standing back and looking at the building and that’s when I saw not just smoke but flames going higher and higher and then that’s when I realized this is really bad, this is serious.”
It took firefighters 45 minutes to get the blaze under control and almost seven hours until the fire was declared out.
There is no word yet on what caused the fire or how extensive the damage is.
-With files from Shallima Maharaj.
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