INNISFAIL – A local man is in serious condition in Calgary hospital and two others taken to Red Deer with minor injuries following an early morning catastrophic garage fire last weekend.
The fire, which erupted beside a three-story apartment building, destroyed the detached garage at a 56th Street duplex in the Dodd’s Lake area.
Five vehicles belonging to the household or a neighbour were either totally destroyed or seriously damaged.
Three men were injured, one seriously.
At about 2 p.m. on the afternoon of Sunday, May 30, the wife of the seriously-injured man who was flown to Calgary, was outside the home dealing with a FortisAlberta technician who was restoring electricity to the family home.
The woman, who asked not to be identified, said she was at a campground with her children when she received the call about the fire.
“I am still in shock,” she said, adding her husband and two friends were working late into the early morning hours on a car when the fire suddenly broke out.
The woman added her seriously injured husband was in stable condition at the hospital. She also said the family’s pet cat and dog were not injured from the blaze.
Gary Leith, the chief of the Innisfail Fire Department, said his crews responded to reports of a structure fire at around 2 a.m. on May 30.
“They arrived on scene to a fully involved detached garage. There was also a number of vehicles in and around the garage – five that were also involved in the fire,” said Leith, adding that while there was no damage done to the house there was some heat damage to a neighbouring property.
“It was under control relatively quickly,” added Leith, adding there was significant post-fire work to do to ensure the blaze was fully extinguished.
“Also, as a result of the injuries we had to turn around and make sure that we were thorough in our investigation, so we secured the scene and kept it secure until such time we were able to determine a cause.”
Leith confirmed there were three men working in the garage when the blaze broke out. He said one man was airlifted by STARS ambulance to Calgary’s Foothills Hospital.
He confirmed the man sustained serious but non-life-threatening burn injuries as a result of the fire.
He said the other two were taken to Red Deer Hospital with less serious burn injuries to the upper and lower body and were released Sunday afternoon.
“My crews as always did an outstanding job under such arduous conditions,” said Leith. “There were some compressed gas cylinders in the building. There were some small explosions as well while we were bringing the fire under control. Yes, I am always proud of my crew.”
Fire crews remained at the scene for 11 hours and did not leave until 1 p.m. on May 30, he said.
The cause of the blaze is not considered suspicious but insurance investigators were scheduled to be at the scene on May 31, he said.
