Two homes were destroyed and two others were damaged Tuesday afternoon in a fire in Okotoks.
Fire crews were called to Sheep River Cove in the town south of Calgary around 4:30 p.m.
Okotoks fire chief Trevor Brice said crews arrived on scene within about seven minutes but two homes were already consumed with flames.
“The first house caught to the second house very quickly. It was well alight when we got here and that was then starting to infringe on the third house, which we were concentrating on protecting that exposure,” Brice said.
“It was a lot of effort. We have to get a lot of water onto the fire.”
There was no one inside the homes at the time, Brice said, so fire crews attacked the blaze from the outside.
“We could not have got in to this fire. It was fully involved when we got here. In fact, we were getting messages while we were on our way here that it was fully involved and there were explosions happening,” he said.
“If there was somebody in there it was not survivable, that’s how bad it was when we got here.”
Brice said the explosions were caused by things like car tires, propane tanks and household aerosols. Firefighters from Okotoks, High River and Heritage Point battled the blaze.
“We had all of our resources here plus off-duty firefighters coming back,” Brice said.
Crews were able to keep the fire from spreading into neighbouring homes, but Brice said the house to the east of the pair had melted siding. The house to the west suffered heat damage, Brice said.
Brice said neither of the two homes is salvageable.
“I’d like to say we get used to it but it’s a disaster for somebody, it’s a crisis for somebody. We get on and do our jobs but then it’s about supporting people in the community and the after effect is sometimes very painful for people.”
Amber Robinson lives in one of the homes that was damaged in the blaze. She was thankful to have a house to go home to Tuesday night, but said she’s devastated for her neighbours.
“We’re really heartbroken for our neighbours and the community. It’s a pretty tight-knit community. At the same time, extremely grateful to the firefighters that they were able to put in the work to keep our home safe,” she said.
“It was pretty tough earlier in the day talking to the kids when it was uncertain. The little guy doesn’t really know but my 11-year-old was pretty upset. We weren’t sure how it was going to turn out.”
Brice said no one was injured in the blaze, but a couple of cats were missing on Tuesday afternoon.
Firefighters left the scene around 10 p.m. Tuesday and the scene was being held by security Wednesday morning. Firefighters are expected to return to the area Wednesday.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. The cost of the damage is not yet known.