Firefighters knock down fire in southeast Calgary

Couple escapes house fire The fire completely destroyed the Douglasglen home and everything in it. Bill Macfarlane reports.

The Calgary Fire Department remains on the scene of a late night blaze that tore through a home in Douglasglen.

At about 11:15 p.m., the fire department was called to a home in the 100 block of Douglasglen Crescent S.E. after neighbours reported seeing flames coming from the roof of a home.

The first truck to the scene called a second alarm due the volume of smoke and fire in the two-storey single family home.

Carol Henke, public information officer with the Calgary Fire Department, says the house was a loss as soon as crews got there.

"By the time crews arrived, the fire had grow so quickly that it was already venting itself."

The residents, two adults, got out of the home safely with their pet prior to the arrival of firefighters. They were not injured.

Crews immediately began to douse the home and some of the neighbouring houses that were already suffering from heat damage.

Aerial trucks were also brought in to help bring the fire under control.

Henke says the crew did an amazing job. "Given how fully involved the house was and how close the other homes are, [crews were amazing] in saving all other homes around this one."

The home at the centre of the fire was destroyed and three other homes had minor damage from the radiant heat.

One firefighter was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

Fire crews are still at the scene, monitoring for hot spots and checking for any extension of the fire into other structures.

Henke said that fighting a fire in cold conditions is always a challenge, but it's something that the CFD is used to.

"It is something that we are used to and do on an annual basis. So, our crews are prepared. It's just ensuring that the hose lines don't freeze up and our fire crews are changed out regularly so that they aren't freezing as well."

The Calgary Fire Department credits working smoke alarms with helping alert the residents to the fire.

"The scary part is, what if they didn't have working smoke alarms? The result would have been very different. Again, it's a reminder to everyone to ensure that you have working smoke alarms in your home on every level, that you test them monthly and if your smoke alarms are over ten years old, they need to be replaced," Henke said.

Marcus Scherweitz, whose family used to live at the home, knows the homeowner, Kirk, very well.

He says Kirk moved into the home shortly after his mother, the previous owner, had died.

"We spent a lot of our lives here growing up," Scherweitz said. "We've got a lot of fond memories in this house. The only two sad days it's had was the day my mom passed away and last night. It's hard to see all the memories burnt away like that."

As for the homeowners, Scherweitz says they are getting some rest with family. "He's in with his in-laws house and he's just settled in. It's unsurmisable to deal with this right now. I can't imagine what he's going through. I guess he's probably just getting some sleep if he can right now."

The cause of the fire is still under investigation and there is no estimate on the cost of damages.