Copperfield condo building evacuated after early morning fire

Investigators say a cigarette butt in a planter might have sparked a fire at a condo complex in southeast Calgary early Friday morning.

Fire crews say an evacuation plan and functioning alarms ensured no one was injured after a fire spread to three floors of a southeast Calgary condo building early Friday.

At 3:10 a.m., the Calgary Fire Department responded to a fire at a four-storey, 72-unit apartment building in the 99 block of Copperstone Park.

Firefighters that first arrived at the scene found smoke and flames on the second, third and fourth floor of the building.

“Fire crews made entry into the complex, assisting evacuation and were able to quickly gain access to the units involved in fire. Crews on the outside of the building deployed hose lines and began knocking down the fire on the exterior,” the CFD said in a news release.

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Officials say the fire was limited to the exterior of the building.

All the residents were able to get out safely and were sheltered in several Calgary Transit buses at the scene.

Late Friday afternoon, an update revealed that investigators determined that a cigarette butt that was discarded in a planter pot ignited the organic matter inside it.

It wasn’t clear where the cigarette came from, with some evidence suggesting it may have been tossed down from a higher balcony.

Investigators recovered other cigarette butts on the ground, suggesting an ongoing issue of improper use and unsafe disposal from smokers on higher floors.

Fire officials say the fire could easily have led to residents being forced to evacuate had it not been for one resident who noticed the flames around 3 a.m. and called 911. Sprinklers on the balconies also helped contain the fire and limited its ability to spread.