No injuries were reported after a fire broke out at a home near the southern outskirts of Edmonton, but the blaze appears to have caused significant damage to the residence.
A spokesperson for Edmonton Fire Rescue Services told Global News that crews arrived at the house, located north of 10 Avenue on 56 Street, at 6:24 p.m. on Thursday.
Neighbours called 911 after seeing smoke.
“When we came around the corner, you could see a bit of flame,” Tom Bowden said. “It wasn’t on the house at that point, so I called 911.
“The fire just spread to the deck, then beyond that and pretty soon the whole house was engulfed.”
Bowden said while he was on the phone with dispatchers, his friends ran up to the house.
“They ran to the front door and banged on the door. They could see movement in there, so they opened the door and said, ‘Hey, you’ve got to get out — there’s a fire.’ They (the residents) had no idea there was a fire in the back there.”
The family was able to get out without any injuries.
Five crews with 18 firefighters responded to the fire. They had it under control within 10 minutes.
“First crews were on scene within three minutes,” District Chief Chuck Cartier said. “When they got on scene, the back of the house was fully involved. Heavy smoke coming out through the front.”
Fire officials did not say what is believed to have sparked the fire and did not provide a damage estimate, but Cartier said there was “a lot of damage, smoke damage and fire damage.”
View photos of the fire in the gallery below.
–With files from Global News’ Sarah Kraus
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