Editor’s note: This story originally said the fire happened at a duplex, but the house is a fourplex. Global News regrets the error.
One person is dead following a fire at a southeast Calgary fourplex on Tuesday night.
Officials said the fire broke out at a home on 39 Street S.E., north of 26 Avenue, shortly after 9 p.m. The home is located in the Forest Lawn neighbourhood.
The Calgary Fire Department said fire crews arrived at the single-storey fourplex to find smoke coming out of a main-floor window, and a number of residents already outside. Firefighters entered the house where they were met with heavy smoke and heat.
“I was told that smoke alarms did activate, which is good and probably helped most everyone get out,” CFD spokesperson Carol Henke said Wednesday.
“We don’t know why one person was unable to get out and that is part of the investigation. It’s just a real tragedy.”
The fire was in a back bedroom, and firefighters were able to bring it under control.
EMS said emergency responders initially found a person who had been badly burned. In an update just after midnight, the CFD said firefighters found one person unresponsive in the back bedroom.
The female was brought out to the front yard where first responders provided care to her. The CFD said the resuscitation was unsuccessful and the female was pronounced dead at the scene. Further details about the victim have not been released.
“We have a procedure of searching all of the areas, and starting with the room of origin. Fire crews found that very quickly and did find the individual inside,” Henke said.
“When a person is in a very smoky environment it just takes a couple of breaths of house fire smoke to render you incapable of self-rescue and you can become unconscious very quickly. You keep breathing that smoke and it’s deadly, toxic smoke.”
A neighbour told Global News a number of people live in the fourplex and it is rented out by the room. The man described a chaotic scene when the fire started, with residents calling for help and fire extinguishers.
A number of fire extinguishers and a garden hose remained on the lawn where police continued to hold the scene Wednesday morning.
The evacuated residents told neighbours they thought everyone was safely out of the home. It was only later they watched as fire crews pulled a person out from inside.
The CFD told Global News the room sustained extensive damage but firefighters were able to keep the flames from spreading. The CFD said damage to other units was minimal.
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About 10 residents were displaced by the fire and are working with the Red Cross for temporary shelter, the CFD said.
A police spokesperson told Global News one of its arson investigators was called in to help the CFD try to determine how the blaze began. However, Henke said that’s doesn’t necessarily mean the fire was suspicious in nature.
“Our fire investigators work very closely with Calgary police arson investigators and they come to any large fire where there’s a large dollar loss, where there’s serious injuries or where there’s a fatality,” Henke said. “That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s considered suspicious, that is just the protocol.”
An autopsy on the deceased is scheduled for Thursday, Henke said.
The CFD would like to speak to anyone who was inside the house when the fire broke out, or anyone in the area who might have any information.
“Everybody has different perspectives and different pieces and we’re trying to see the overall view,” Henke said.
— with files from Sarah Offin, Global News.
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