SUNDRE — A pet cat might well have saved the lives of three adults who were sound asleep last week when an early morning fire all but burned to the ground a single family dwelling east of town.
“The cat actually woke the one guy up and he got the other two members of the house out,” said Ross Clews, the Sundre Fire Department’s chief.
Clews was not able to say for certain whether the home had smoke alarms installed.
Although all of the occupants were subsequently able to safely evacuate the rural property uninjured, one of the residents' feline companions was nowhere to be found once the smoke settled, said Clews.
“Hopefully, they got out and they’re just scared, ran in the bush and will come back around looking,” he said.
The department received the call on Tuesday, Aug. 17 at 4:01 a.m., with the Olds Fire Department also automatically toned out as per a mutual aid agreement.
The cause and origin of the blaze on the property located north of Highway 27 along Rge. Rd. 51 was not immediately known when the fire chief spoke with The Albertan later the same day.
But the home’s owner who was alerted by the pet cat quickly discovered a dire situation.
“The house was full of smoke; he couldn’t even really see anything,” said Clews. “He woke up the other two people (and) got them out.”
Once outside, the chief said the owner told him he saw smoke and flames billowing out from the roof’s soffits all around the house.
“The house was fully engulfed when we arrived on scene. Once we got on scene and seen what we were dealing with, we called Cremona to come and assist as well,” he said.
“We were actively fighting the fire for probably about a good hour and a half.”
Although uncertain as to the precise number of water tanker loads required to extinguish the flames and soak the remaining hotspots, Clews said the Sundre and Olds departments each deployed roughly seven, with Cremona contributing about half a dozen.
Once the blaze was brought under control, crews shifted their response to “mop up and clean up, salvage and overhaul,” an effort which continued later into the morning long after the sun had come up.
In the aftermath, the structure was substantially damaged and the roof was mostly burned through while a wall in the home’s centre section was also burned out, he said.
“Virtually, it was a total loss. They might find some stuff, but it’s sad,” he said.
“The good thing is no one got seriously injured.”
Upon speaking with the homeowners, Clews said their insurance company was informed and that a fire investigator would be dispatched.
“The insurance company also called a security company to keep the place safe” until the investigator arrived, he said.
Sundre’s fire chief also praised the cooperation with the other fire departments in Mountain View County.
“It’s outstanding,” he said.
