OLDS — On Friday, May 7, Olds firefighters responded to two fires within a couple of hours of each other.
The first fire occurred southeast of Olds and was reported as an exterior residential fire.
When fire crews arrived, they found the blaze had been mainly extinguished and was contained to the exterior of the home. Damage was minimal, but the occupant had suffered burns while trying to extinguish the fire.
The occupant was treated by an ambulance crew and transported to hospital.
The cause of this fire is currently under investigation but fire chief Justin Andrew says it’s “not deemed suspicious at this time.”
“The quick actions of the occupant along with a properly functioning fire extinguisher were factors that lead to the minimal damage of the residence,” a fire department news release says.
The second fire occurred northeast of the Olds overpass and was reported as a farm structure fire.
When fire crews got there, found a chicken coop “fully involved” in fire in the yard. No other buildings were threatened.
A single fire engine was able to quickly contain and extinguish that blaze with a single engine. However, the coop was a complete loss, due to the extent of the fire.
Andrew says the cause of this fire is deemed to be accidental, the result of a heating unit being left close to “combustible material.”
