Two people were left homeless on Monday after a quick-moving fire destroyed their Douglas Glen home.
It happened in the 0-100 block of Douglas Glen Crescent S.E. at around 11:15 p.m.
The pair living in the home was able to make it out safely – along with their dog.
Neighbour Wade Jackson said the couple was forced to leave so quickly that one of them wasn’t even wearing shoes.
“It was within minutes that house was gone. There was absolutely not a chance for them.”
“They had enough time to get out of the house – that was it.”
When they arrived, firefighters found the two-storey home completely engulfed in flames which could be seen rising high above the property.
Crews used water lines to protect neighbouring homes, and an aerial ladder was brought in to help firefighters directly target the flames.
One firefighter was taken to hospital to be treated for injuries to his nose.
“We did have one minor injury to a firefighter, who got bumped and pushed into the structure,” Batt. Chief Stuart Laird said. “He’ll require some stitches.”
Fighting a fire in extreme cold ‘very challenging’: Calgary Fire Department
Laird said extreme cold adds a degree of difficulty to their job.
“We have to make sure that we’re cycling the crews through … that we keep them warm.”
“We have to always be concerned about the water freezing so quickly,” Laird added.
He said making sure hoses don’t freeze is a top priority.
“Whenever we have water running through a line or a piece of equipment – once we’re no longer using it, we have to break it down and drain it immediately. If we don’t, it will freeze up.”
Lastly, Laird said water will puddle and then freeze at fire scenes, creating slippery areas which crews have to watch for.
“Nighttime, cold weather – those are some of the challenges that we learn to fight as firefighters.”
“Fighting a fire in this extreme cold is very challenging,” Carol Henke with the Calgary Fire Department added. “However, it is something that our crews our very used to and do on an annual basis.”
Henke said the home where the fire originated was “absolutely destroyed.”
Three adjacent homes suffered minor cosmetic heat damage.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
The home did have working fire alarms, according to the CFD.
“The scary part is what if they didn’t have working smoke alarms,” Henke added. “The result could have been very different.”
With files from Doug Vaessen
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