'You could feel the heat': Witnesses recount another suspicious fire that destroyed building under construction

Two people living in King Edward Park are sharing what they saw when a suspicious fire destroyed a building under construction over the weekend.

Keltyn Tisserand says he woke up in the middle of the night to see the duplex under construction on fire on 79 Street and 77 Avenue.

“It was surreal to see it at three in the morning when you roll out of bed. Gigantic flames, you could feel the heat. I could feel the heat from my kitchen as I looked out the window,” Tisserand told CTV Edmonton on Monday.

Edmonton Fire Rescue Services (EFRS) says when crews arrived at about 2:51 a.m., the building was already engulfed in flames.

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Tisserand says his house is two doors down and the siding already started to melt on one side.

“It was pretty hot, (you) didn’t need to put on a coat, that’s for sure.”

Nathan Patrsyk lives in the area as well and thought the fire was a powerful light from a streetlamp when he woke in the middle of the night.

“Thank God no one was hurt, but at the same time the fire was so hot because it’s new construction and only timber is up there,” Patrysk said.

On Friday morning, a fire started in a duplex under construction on 77 Avenue and 115 Street. Police are looking at that fire as being suspicious.

Police confirmed the fire at King Edward Park is also considered suspicious on Monday. EFRS says the fire also damaged a garage.

Investigators are trying to determine if there is a link between the two fires.

Tisserand says he still deems the neighbourhood as safe but Patrsyk disagrees.

“Where you lay your head to sleep every night, you don’t want that to be your house next and it is scary,” Patrsyk said.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Nav Sangha and Brittany Ekelund