Fire rips through townhouses in Fort Saskatchewan

Fire tore through townhouses in Fort Saskatchewan early Sunday morning in the Woodsmere Close area.

The Fort Saskatchewan Fire Department responded to reports of a fire in the complex around 4:07 a.m. and found one townhouse fully engulfed by flames.

One fire engine and tower responded from Fort Saskatchewan. An additional crew from Strathcona County was also brought in to help.

Once crews arrived, fire chief Todd Martens said the biggest challenge was minimizing the further spread of flames.

"Just how close the units are together and the space that it takes for our trucks to get inside these residences," Martens said. "It spreads very quick with this new type of construction."

The fire affected six homes, with several interiors destroyed, RCMP said.

All the residents were able to self-evacuate, and no injuries were reported. Martens told CTV News Edmonton that all affected families are receiving help from Fort Saskatchewan's victim services and the Red Cross.

Townhouses were damaged by a fire early Sunday morning on Oct. 16, 2022 in Fort Saskatchewan. (CTV News Edmonton)

Most of those affected are now staying with family or in nearby hotels.

Scotty Hammerback, who lives nearby, recalled looking out his window and seeing the early morning fire.

"I looked out my living room window and just saw flames, smoke, flames, and fire men running down the path with hoses trying to contain it," he said.

Jacquie Schmit, who lives three homes down from where the fire started, described being woken up by people banging on her front door.

"All of a sudden around 4, everybody was just banging on the door, ringing the doorbell, hollering, fire, fire out here," she recalled.

After evacuating, Schmit said she watched as the flames inched closer to her house.

"It was coming pretty close," she added. "You could see the flames just lapping on the side of the building."

She feels lucky that there was no serious damage.

"I''m just grateful that I'm okay," Scmit said. "I feel for those people."

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Joe Scarpelli and Steven Dyer