Fire displaces dozens of SE Calgary condo residents

Dozens of people have been left homeless after a 48-unit condo building in Calgary’s southeast went up in flames Sunday night.

The Calgary Fire Department (CFD) says around 10 p.m. on June 23, crews responded to calls about a structure fire at the Prestwick Villas SE condo complex.

A second alarm was called to make sure enough resources were on scene, it added.

Firefighters immediately encountered lots of smoke and flames from an outside corner of the building before the blaze engulfed the entire roof.

The CFD says crews began to fight the fire from the ground and an elevated position using an aerial apparatus, while also attacking and searching the inside of the building.

Residents on all sides of the building were protected by crews running exposure lines, it adds.

An entire building was left with severe damage to the top floor and roof due to the fire. It also suffered significant water damage.

CityNews spoke with residents of the area, who watched the scene in disbelief.

“It was awful, it was just awful,” one person said. “Obviously you’re more worried about who’s in there and making sure everybody was out. It was late at night, so hopefully everybody was home and able to get their pets out and got out safe.”

Another resident of the area described the scene to CityNews.

“It smelled like fireworks and I heard people screaming,” they said. “The building was just burning.”

The Red Cross has set up a reception centre in the area to assess the needs of displaced residents with help from the Calgary Police Service (CPS) and Alberta Health Services (AHS).

@citynewscalgary is live at Prestwick Villas in the SE.

A massive blaze destroyed the roof of a condo building last night.

Tune in as I bring you the latest details. #yyc #Calgary #PrestwickFire pic.twitter.com/vf2lKbM0GG

— Logan Stein (@L0ganStein) June 24, 2024

Calgary Transit has also supplied buses for residents being assessed to shelter in.

CFD says there have been no injuries reported.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Anyone with photos, video, or information regarding the incident, especially before crews got there, is asked to contact CFD at piofire@calgary.ca

-With files from Logan Stein