Officials are investigating, after a fire broke out in southeast Edmonton, and spread to three homes, leaving more than a dozen people homeless early Monday morning.
Firefighters were called to the fire, at a home on 10 Avenue near 59 Street, at about 2 a.m. Monday. Crews quickly called for backup, as strong winds fanned the flames.
“It was a major factor between the origin of the call at it was two minutes before we called a second alarm,” Chief Brian Dewan with Edmonton Fire Rescue said.
“Our strategy right after the bat was to protect neighbouring homes and lots of lots water.”
By about 5 a.m., the fire was determined to be under control – but it had spread to a total of three homes, and destroyed at least two of them. Officials later said all three are uninhabitable.
It’s the second fire homeowner Rey Galigo has had to deal with in recent months – one on a much larger scale.
Galigo was in Fort McMurray when the massive wildfire broke out nearly four months ago, and that’s where he was when he learned his home had caught fire.
“I’m shaking,” Galigo told CTV News.
He said his wife and two children are away on vacation.
“If they were here, because of the travel delays and the jetlag, they might have been sleeping when the fire broke out, they may not have been able to get out,” Galigo said.
Officials said 13 people are displaced.
The exact cause and extent of the damage is being investigated, and insurance adjustors were on the scene later Monday.
With files from Shanelle Kaul and Nicole Weisberg
