Calgary fire: 1 dead in Evanston basement suite blaze

One person is dead after a house fire in the northwest Calgary community of Evanston Thursday night.

Calgary Fire Chief Scott Cown tells CityNews crews received multiple calls about the blaze at a home along Evanston Drive NW around 9:30 p.m.

He says personnel spotted flames and smoke coming from the basement suite.

“They attacked the fire from the outside and then immediately went inside and did a quick search of the basement structure and unfortunately found one person who was deceased inside,” Cowan explained. “They continued to put out the fire and then exited the building and waited for the fire investigator and the arson investigator to arrive to determine the origin and the cause of the fire.”

There were intial reports a second person was home at the time, but Cowan says that person wasn’t home at the time of the fire — instead, they called 911 upon arrival.

“He came home, opened the found door and found smoke in the house — that’s when the first 911 call came in,” he explained. “We recommend, obviously, that nobody enters a home that’s on fire or has smoke inside.”

“Obviously, it was a bit of a shock to the person that arrived home.”

A joint investigation by fire and Calgary police is underway into what caused the blaze.

How much damage the home suffered is not known at this time.

-With files from Phil Wood