A fire in a west Edmonton apartment building forced the evacuation of dozens of residents early Tuesday morning.
It’s believed the fire started at about 2 a.m. Tuesday – and people inside all 24 units in the three-storey walk-up, near 145 Street and 108 Avenue, evacuated.
The suite on the third floor of the building where the fire started sustained major damage, but fire crews said they managed to keep the flames from spreading to the rest of the building.
Officials said a number of other suites were damaged by smoke and water.
Firefighters had their work cut out for them as they worked to battle the blaze while dealing with cold weather.
“Today is a little colder than we’re used to at this time of year,” Dist. Chief Randy Shakura said. “Definitely the cold weather does have an effect on our equipment and our crews.”
Evacuated residents were provided shelter at a nearby community centre – residents in about half of the building were able to return home, but five people were still displaced and the Red Cross has been called in to help.
Later Tuesday morning, fire investigators were still on the scene working to determine the cause of the fire.
There were no injuries reported, but CTV News has learned a cat died in the fire.
With files from Jonathan Glasgow
