One family has been displaced after a fire in southeast Edmonton Monday morning is estimated to have caused $1,050,000 in damages.
Fire crews were called to a fire in a fourplex in the area of 39 Avenue and 38 Street at around 7 a.m.
According to Edmonton Fire Rescue Services, multiple calls were coming in saying the exterior and roof a fourplex in the area was on fire.
EFRS said crews arrived on scene within four minutes of receiving the call, to find a fully involved fire.
“Flames and heavy smoke showing,” district chief Robert Shellnutt said from the scene.
Two additional units were called as the first crew was en route, Shellnut said. The fire was upgraded to a second alarm at 7:11 a.m.
The fire was brought under control just after 8 a.m. Shellnut said three of the units in the fourplex were affected by the fire, and the fourth likely suffered smoke and water damage.
No injuries were reported, but a spokesperson with EFRS said one family was displaced by the fire and is receiving assistance from the Emergency Support Response Team.
On Tuesday morning, EFRS issued an update saying the fire is believed to have been caused by “improperly discarded smoking material” in an outside planter.
According to the update, all four units were damaged. The two centre units had “extensive” fire and smoke damage and portions of the roof were destroyed.
“The fire breached the doors and windows on the rear of the property and then spread to the interior,” the statement read. “Both outer units suffered varying degrees of smoke and water damage within, as well as the attic and roof structure suffering fire impingement.”
EFRS says $300,000 worth of the damage was done to the contents of the homes, while the structure suffered $750,000 in damage.
So far in 2020, EFRS says there have been 22 fires in the city related to smoking materials. Those fires have resulted in four injuries and an estimated loss of more than $2.1 million.
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