Rocky View Fire Services says one person was injured in a blaze on the western edge of the city on Friday.
Chief Randy Smith said firefighters were called to a house fire in the area of 101 Street and Heritage Woods Drive Southwest just after 5:30 a.m.
He said crews arrived to find the home engulfed in flames.
“Unfortunately, the homeowner did sustain burns and was taken to hospital,” Smith said. “That’s the only injury at this time.”
Calgary EMS said the victim, a middle-aged man, was taken to hospital in serious but stable condition.
Crews from Elbow Valley, Springbank, Tsuu T’ina Nation, Redwood Meadows and Bearspaw all responded to the house fire.
“Rocky View County is primarily a rural area and in many rural areas such as this, we don’t have fire hydrants along the road — so we bring our water with us. That’s why so many (fire) stations have responded to this with their water trucks,” Smith explained.
“What they do is they come, they set up an above-ground pond and they dump their water, and then the tankers can go away today and get refilled while the firefighters stay here and fight the fire with the water on scene.”
Smith said the house has been gutted and will be a total loss.
“Unfortunately, in situations like this, we’re in a secluded area and the fire got a hold. By the time the fire departments got here the structure was totally involved,” he said.
“A very sad start to the year.”