1 hospitalized from blaze at northeast Edmonton apartment

Fire damaged an apartment building in northeast Edmonton, sending one person to hospital.

One person was hospitalized and multiple homes were destroyed in a fire at an apartment complex in northeast Edmonton on Tuesday.

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Edmonton Fire Rescue Services (EFRS) received reports of a multi-residential structure fire that started in a second-floor suite of the building near 134 Avenue and 49 Street at 1:27 p.m.

EFRS said one person was taken to hospital and the building was evacuated, with many people trapped by thick smoke.

“A lot of crews that were going in to get some water on the fire had to get the people off the balcony via ladders,” said EFRS Capt. Kevin Espetveidt.

“People were calling about pets that were left in the units, so we were trying to get some people in to get some pets out, and in the meantime, while that was going on, the fire on the outside got up into the roof.”

Second and third alarms were called because the fire was spreading across the entire roof of the complex, spurred on by the wind.

The fire was called out at 6:29 a.m. Wednesday.

Espetveidt said there were no reports of anyone being stuck or left inside during the fire.

One cat was killed, but firefighters saved other pets. Espetveidt said search and rescue of pets would likely continue as residents arrived home from work and learned of the fire.

“I was so stressed and my hands are shaking,” said fourth-floor resident Komal Preetsingh upon arriving at the scene.

“I saw my apartment … it’s all done," he added. “Nothing was there. Everything is done.”

Espetveidt said there were apartments on the first, second, and to some degree the third floor, without fire damage.

However, with so much water used on the roof across the entire building, all will likely have some water damage.

“It’s going to come down through the drywall,” he explained. “The water, it just travels everywhere.”

The cause of the fire is being investigated.

The total number of units destroyed is not yet known.

The Emergency Support Response Team is supporting 252 people.