Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services’ investigation into Thursday’s house fire in Legacy Ridge has revealed that the origin of the blaze was an RV parked next to the northside home’s detached garage.
The fire was caused by an electrical appliance or cord connected to the vehicle, although investigators have been unable to pinpoint the exact object.
Marc Royer, the fire investigator on the case, cautions residents to make sure their appliances and cords are unplugged to prevent fires from starting in this way.
“First of all, any plugged-in appliance can cause a fire,” he said. “Your coffee machine, anything that you have in your house or an RV, if it’s plugged in and it’s energized, then it has the ability to cause a fire.
“Second of all, lighter gauge and long extension cords… create more resistance when they’re used, which creates more heat and they can also cause a fire. So please, if you’re using an extension cord, use the appropriate gauge cord and the appropriate length. You don’t want to use a 50 foot cord for a 10 foot job.”
The blaze began at around 3 a.m. on Lettice Perry Road N. on Thursday, destroying the house and the detached garage on the property. It also caused significant damage to two garages next to it as well as to some vehicles.
In total, eight houses suffered fire or smoke damage, with estimated damages to be more than $500,000.
Twenty-one firefighters and eight units responded to the fire, all arriving within eight minutes of the dispatch call.
“At one point, all four of our stations were included in battling this blaze, so it took a lot of manpower,” said Royer, noting it was a “very significant blaze with lots of heat.”
Flames were 20 to 30 feet higher than the two-storey home.
The firefighters worked for several hours to put the fire out and no injuries were reported.
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