Elk Point townhouse fire the largest blaze crews have seen in 15-20 years

The deputy fire chief of a volunteer fire department in eastern Alberta says a destructive townhouse fire in Elk Point on Friday night is unlike anything the town has seen in years.

“We haven’t had a fire like this, a disaster like this for many years — 15 to 20 years,” Peter Hewitt said on Saturday.

“We’ve had the odd basement fire but this is new to a lot of guys.”

The fire broke out at around 4:45 p.m. Friday. Jacqueline Penz lives in one of the townhouse units and said she was on her back deck when she smelled smoke.

“I smelled something burning and just thought maybe someone was lighting a campfire or something. Then I looked up and the roof was on fire. I could see black smoke coming from the roof,” said Penz, who has lived in the townhouse since 2014.

READ MORE: Fire destroys row of townhouses in Elk Point, Alberta

Penz ran to the front of the house and saw flames on the roof, so she ran back inside, got her two kids and left the house as quickly as she could.

She said the flames quickly spread down the row of houses.

“The wind just kind of took off and the fire got bigger and bigger… the grass behind the building started burning, vehicles started burning,” she said. “I didn’t know what to do.

“The way these flames just took off and the smoke and the wind and how the whole field burned behind. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Hewitt said his crew from the Elk Point Fire Department was out battling a grass fire when the call came in. Two volunteer crews from St. Paul were dispatched to assist.

By the time Hewitt arrived on scene, most of the townhouse units were destroyed. He said the wind really hampered firefighters’ efforts.

“We were hampered by a northeasterly wind which pretty much hampered us from the get-go,” he explained. “Because everything is so dry at the moment… sometimes there’s only so much water. We were trying to do what we could do. The guys worked as hard as they could.”

Watch below: Several townhouses in Elk Point, Alta. burned to the ground on Friday evening.

While one-and-a-half of the eight units in the row remained standing on Saturday, Hewitt said the entire block of homes is a loss.

“I can’t see anybody moving back in here.”

The cause of the fire is not yet known. Hewitt said the investigation into the cause will take place over the next few days.

No injuries were reported, although Hewitt said one cat died in the blaze.

Elk Point is a town of about 1,500 people located about 200 kilometres east of Edmonton.