A house fire early Saturday morning has destroyed a southside home and left four occupants homeless.
Edmonton Fire Rescue Services spokesperson Shani Gwin said crews were called to a house fire in the area of 37 Avenue and 28 A Street just after four in the morning on May 30.
When crews arrived, the house was fully involved in flames and the occupants were already outside.
Ravneet Singh, 24, was in the basement when the fire broke out. “I tried to go [upstairs], but there was [nothing but] fire up there – so I had to come back. We were just panicking to see what we could do,” he told CTV News.
According to Singh, he and two others escaped through a small window in the basement. Singh added the other two occupants were upstairs at the time and also managed to escape unharmed. “I did not even know what was going on. It was just an instant reaction and we all were able to survive,” Singh explained.
Singh said he and three others were renting the home, however five people were home at the time of the fire. “We know each other from back home. Originally we are from India – it’s a sad situation, so we are here for each other,” he pointed out.
Brenda Cannon, who rents the house next door, said it was a scary sight.
“I was sure our house was going to go up – I was waiting for it to start [on fire] everywhere,” explained Cannon. “The firemen did a great job this morning. They kept our house well-watered – so we just lost the siding on it,” she said.
According to Cannon, three vehicles were also damaged in the blaze.
Ravi Gaindalell, who has lived in an adjacent home for 15 years and watched as the community was built, said he has never seen anything like this. “As soon as I opened the door, [I] could feel the heat,” he said.
According to Gwin, more than 30 firefighters were on the scene and brought the fire under control about an hour after the initial call.
Gwin said the home was extensively damaged, however there is no damage estimate yet. Siding was melted off the neighbouring home.
No injuries were reported.
Fire investigators are working to determine the cause of the blaze.
With files from Nicole Weisberg
