Man dead, woman in hospital after house fire in Falconridge

A man is dead and a woman is in hospital, in serious condition, following an early morning house fire in the northeast Calgary community of Falconridge.

A man is dead and a woman is in hospital in serious condition following a house fire in the northeast Calgary community of Falconridge.

Emergency crews were called to a single-storey home in the 70 block of Falwood Place N.E. around 4:20 a.m. on March 24.

Arriving firefighters found smoke and flames coming from the home and were told that the occupants were still inside.

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The fire was brought under control and three residents and two dogs were found at the scene.

The Calgary Fire Department said one male resident had gotten out of the burning home with the two dogs, but two other residents, a man and a woman, needed to be rescued.

The man was suffering from cardiac arrest and, despite life-saving efforts by EMS, died at the scene.

The female resident was taken to hospital in serious condition.

Florence Day lives across the street from the home that caught fire.

She says she knew the residents.

“I was just really surprised,” she said.

They’re pretty down-to-earth people and willing to help.

“With, Ash (Day’s neighbour) here, too, having his heart attack, and it’s been a ridiculous time on this stretch when we have never had anything happen before.”

Day says she lost her husband last month.

The fatality is also weighing on the minds of first responders.

“Crews are definitely trained to deal with this type of event, but the department is very good at doing follow-up with them and making sure that if there’s any follow-up care that’s needed, that we can provide that for them,” CFD battalion chief Jordan Wiebe said.

The home was destroyed in the fire.

The cause is under investigation.

It’s unclear if the home had working fire detectors.

“Given the time of the morning, most people are sleeping,” said Carol Henke with the fire department.

“That’s why smoke alarms are so incredibly important.”

She says with house fires, the smoke is the most dangerous aspect when trying to escape.

“When a fire takes hold, you literally just have a couple of minutes to get out safely before you’re overcome with smoke,” she said.

“With the amount of smoke that was in the structure, it just takes a couple of breaths before you’re rendered incapable of rescuing yourself and getting out safely.”

Calgary police say the fire is not believed to be suspicious or criminal in nature.

Anyone with information, photos or video of the fire, especially prior to the arrival of CFD, is asked to email [e-mail].