Calgary fire crews tackle blaze in SE; garage damaged by vehicle

The Calgary Fire Department (CFD) responded to a surging house fire that displaced two in southwest Wentworth and a vehicle that crashed into an attached garage in the southeast Sunday.

Crews say they received a call about a fire in the Wentworth area on West Coach Place SW at around 2 a.m.

When they arrived, flames were spotted surging from the basement window at the rear of the home.

Firefighters say two people already escaped but a cat was still inside. So crews “attacked” the blaze before retrieving the cat. No one else was inside.

“So the occupants did say that there still is a cat inside. So crews made that a priority when they went into the structure, they did find the cat on the second floor, in a bedroom upstairs, rescued it and brought it back out to the occupants,” CFD Battalion Chief Scott Cowan told 660 NewsRadio.

“It didn’t appear to have any injuries. It appeared to be fine, and the occupants were very glad to be reunited with the cat.”

He says fire crews carry special equipment when rescuing cats and dogs, and are trained for the event.

“Certainly … humans are our first priority, but we know that we’re animal lovers as well and we know that pets are really, really important to people,” Cowan said.

Damage was only limited to the basement, which they say is the fire’s origin. Smoke damage throughout the home has led to the pair being displaced for the night.

Meanwhile, the CFD Fire Investigator is currently looking for the cause.

Shortly after taking care of the blaze, crews headed to an attached garage in the southeast on Sunlake Way that was heavily damaged by a vehicle crash.

The lone occupant wasn’t injured, but the vehicle caused “significant structural damage” to the garage.

Creas with the technical response team stabilized the structure while removing the vehicle. Due to that work, the home’s occupants won’t be displaced.

The Calgary Fire Department is asking Calgarians to have a fire escape plan, including a meeting place in case of an emergency in the home.

“Whether you’re a family or just a couple of people living in a house, it’s important to have a fire safety plan to know how you’re going to get out when an emergency happens,” Cowan explained.

“Sometimes it’s a bit chaotic when people are evacuating from a structure and people are going out the front door, going out the back door, it’s really important to know where you’re going to meet so that everybody knows that everybody’s out and safe and can pass that information on to the incoming fire crews.”

With files from Nadia Moharib