Fire crews battle stubborn blaze in Mahogany
Posted Jan 22, 2016 7:12 am.
Last Updated Jan 22, 2016 1:42 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A family of six in Mahogany was forced out in the cold early Friday, after a blaze gutted their home.
Crews were called to the scene just before 4 a.m. on Mahogany View SE, and were able to put out flames on the main floor.
However, fire in the basement forced firefighters to tackle the blaze from outside the house.
Around 5:30 a.m., the flames flared up again, with thick smoke covering the neighbourhood.
Battalion Chief Alan Ball said no one was hurt, and working smoke detectors were found in the home, but a family cat is unaccounted for.
“The family, I think is, extremely stressed right now — a lot of anxiety,” he said. “In a three hour span, they’ve seen all of their personal belongings, and their life, go up in smoke.”
He explained the home is likely a write-off.
“Significant damage, if not a total loss. I mean, the walls are still standing, they are stable,” he said. “Reports from our crews is there’s not a lot of floor left –it’s all collapsed into the basement.”
A Red Cross spokesperson told 660 NEWS, the family will be assisted with food and clothing for 72 hours.
Crews evacuated neighbours as a precaution, but Ball says there’s minimal damage to adjacent houses.
Investigators are still determining where and how the fire started.
