Fire destroys home under construction in south Edmonton Sunday

A fire destroyed a home under construction and damaged two others in Edmonton Sunday.

The fire was reported in a home near Alwood Bend and Alwood Way in south Edmonton around 6 a.m. Sunday.

Dhaval Pachul was woken by the fire. He lives across the street and said he soon realized the fire was spreading quickly.

"I was getting scared," Pachul said. "It was spreading from one house to another house so I wanted to stay awake."

Five more fire crews were called to help, and firefighters remained in the area late into the morning.

"In this neighborhood, the houses are closer together and when its cold like this and there's a little bit of wind, the fire can extend pretty rapidly," said Edmonton Fire Rescue Services District Chief Rob Allen.

Fire officials say no one was hurt, but a family next door was evacuated after the fire spread to their home. The other neighbouring home was also damaged, but the owners were out of town at the time.

Fire investigators were on scene for several hours, but could not say where the fire started.

The Edmonton Police Service has confirmed it's investigating at least 18 incidents of extortion involving fires set at newly built homes or show homes, and investigators believe there may be more cases.

It is not yet known if Sunday's fire is connected in any way to the extortion ring.