A cigarette butt discarded in a backyard planter is responsible for a massive fire that destroyed two southwest Edmonton homes and caused damage to three more Wednesday morning, according to Edmonton Fire Rescue Services.
It’s not yet known which of the two yards in the MacEwan neighbourhood (on Melrose Crescent SW) the fire originated in, investigators said. The fire forced six people from the two homes, including two young children, and three people were assessed on scene by EMS but no one was taken to hospital.
Fire investigators said three other homes sustained varying degrees of heat damage.
Edmonton Fire Rescue said the cause of the fire was determined to be an improperly discarded cigarette in a container of potting soil on the south exterior of the home.
Edmonton Fire Rescue stressed the danger of disposing cigarettes in this way.
The amount of damage caused by smoking-related fires is on track to double from last year. The total estimated damage from fires last year started by cigarettes reached $3.5 million. The city said Wednesday afternoon that so far this year, there have been 46 fires related to smoking materials, causing an estimated $5.3 million in property loss.
The damages from the Melrose Crescent fire are estimated to be $1.3 million.
READ MORE: Damage from smoking-related fires is on disturbing upward trend in Edmonton
Homeowner Randy Painchaud may have lost almost everything in the fire, but investigators did manage to salvage one thing: a stone foot imprint from when his four-year-old son Nixon was a toddler.
“It’s just a reminder of what’s important,” he said while standing near the ruins of the home his family only moved into last September.
“A lot of the photos and stuff can’t be replaced but I can make lots of memories still, so it’s good.”
Painchaud’s home on Melrose Crescent in MacEwan, along with the neighbouring one, was destroyed by fire and three surrounding homes sustained heat damage.
Painchaud said he and his wife Shelby were woken by the sound of a fire alarm going off and glass breaking at around 2:30 a.m.
“So my wife got out of bed and we were kinda half asleep and didn’t really know what was going on,” he said. His wife walked down the hallway and opened the door of their daughter’s bedroom, where the almost-two-year-old was in her crib and the window was on fire.
“So she screamed right away. I told her to grab my daughter and I attempted to try and put it out because I thought it was isolated, and then realized it was the whole side of the house.”
Painchaud’s best friend Adam was visiting and heard his wife’s screaming. He said Adam came up from the basement, grabbed his daughter and ran outside.
“Nixon was in his bedroom and Shelby grabbed him immediately, right away and ripped him downstairs and out the door. I was able to get out after them a few minutes later and we watched it accelerate right from there.
“It literally went from the side of the house burning to the entire house burning in three or four minutes.”
He said he was panicked and wanted to turn around to salvage personal items, but the fire moved too fast.
“It’s not safe to do, you know? So we just stepped back and waited for services.
“We were lucky enough – somebody had told me Air 1 had seen the house actually on fire and they actually reported it, so we were lucky enough I think, the fire department was already on the way when we came outside. And I was just on the phone with them and I could hear sirens start in the background. So they got here pretty quick. Which is awesome.”
Firefighters were called to Melrose Crescent at 2:30 a.m. They arrived six minutes later to find two homes engulfed in flames. It’s believed the fire started at one house and then quickly spread to the neighbouring one.
After safely getting out of their own home, Painchaud’s wife realized their neighbour wasn’t outside yet.
“So she ran over and started banging on his door and ringing his doorbell. But he said he was in a solid sleep and didn’t know what was going on.” The neighbour woke up about five minutes later.
“He woke up to the glass breaking and smoke in his room. He thought it was the same thing, isolated – ‘Why is the window on fire?’ So he grabbed a bucket of water and started splashing it and all of a sudden the smoke hit him and he realized, ‘This is thick, black smoke. I gotta get out of here.’
“So he came barreling out the door and we were like, ‘You gotta get out man, you gotta get away — there’s a big fire!'”
The sides and roofs of both homes were destroyed, leaving behind charred trusses and framing.
Heavy equipment was brought later Wednesday morning to tear down one of the homes.
Three people from Painchaud’s home had to be assessed by EMS on scene. His daughter was checked for smoke inhalation and had mild carbon monoxide poisoning, but Painchaud said she was given oxygen and will be fine. Everyone else was also OK.
Area resident Chris Thiessen woke up to the sound of firetrucks arriving and looked outside to see his neighbour’s house consumed by flames.
“It was huge, like, 50 feet above the house. I have never seen anything like it in my life,” he said.
He said police quickly evacuated all of the nearby homes. “Everyone in the cul-de-sac here, we’re all moved off to the side. We’re all safe, and that’s the important thing I guess.”
READ MORE: Cigarette left in planter caused fire that destroyed Lewis Estates home
Heavy smoke filled the air as crews worked to put out the fires.
Another neighbour, Kundran Kuralenthi, was also awoken by the noise of the firetrucks. “After 15 minutes or so a police officer came to the door and told me to get everyone out of the house, just for precaution.”
The fire was brought under control at 3:49 a.m., but crews remained on scene into the morning putting out hot spots.
Painchaud said they are going to stay with family, and probably take a few days off and go to the lake to cheer up his children.
“I’m just happy everybody is safe. We were able to get everybody out in time which is good. Quick thinking on my wife’s behalf. We lost a lot, but at least everybody’s OK.”
Exactly where the fire began is still under investigation. Damages were pegged at $1.3 million.
READ MORE: Thousands turn out in Edmonton to learn emergency survival skills
Edmonton Fire Rescue’s Stub it Right program is aimed at educating people about the danger of improperly disposing cigarette butts. It recommends things like making sure smoking materials are not thrown in planter pots or other combustible containers and not throwing them out of car windows
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