Garage gutted by blaze in Woodbine

A car smoulders in the alley behind a garage that burned down in the community of Woodbine on Wednesday, February 25, 2015.

A detached garage was destroyed in a fire on Wednesday morning and crews had to work quickly to keep the blaze from spreading to neighbouring homes.

Fire crews were called to a home on Woodbrook Close SW at about 10:40 a.m. by a resident who said he could see smoke coming from the garage at the back of his property.

The structure was fully involved and flames were threatening neighbouring houses when crews arrived.

Three residents were evacuated from two neighbouring homes to ensure their safety.

“Radiant heat can start homes on fire and we do our best to prevent the spread of the fire but when we arrive and there’s already a fully involved garage fire, that can spread very quickly and so as a precaution we evacuate the area and ensure people aren’t at risk,” said Carol Henke, from the Calgary Fire Department.

The garage where the blaze originated was completely destroyed and one home suffered some fire damage.

Heat from the fire also damaged the vinyl siding of a neighbouring house.

“This was upgraded to a second alarm due to the fact that the garage was fully involved on arrival,” said Henke. ‘The garage was destroyed so right now firefighters are doing salvage and overhaul and ensuring that any hot spots are out and as well fire investigators are on scene.”

There were no injuries and investigators are working to determine a cause.