SUNDRE – A home in the northeast residential subdivision fortunately was vacant when a fire broke out downstairs and subsequently gutted the basement.
“The house was vacant at the time,” said Cpl. Courtney Harding, acting commander of the Sundre RCMP detachment.
But although nobody was hurt on the afternoon of Thursday, Sept. 12 and none of the neighbouring homes along the north side of 8th Avenue NE loop near the Royal Purple Park sustained so much as a hint of damage, the residents of the affected property were left looking for alternate accommodations.
Harding said that as a result of the fire, a young family was unfortunately displaced and the corporal expressed optimism that through supports the family has in place that the situation would be sorted out.
The scene was attended by the Sundre Fire Department with mutual assistance from their partners in Olds as well as the local RCMP and paramedics.
“Our role was to determine if the matter was criminal,” said Harding, adding on Sept. 13 during a follow-up phone interview that while the fire investigator was still looking into the incident that police did not have any initial concerns.
“We have no reason to believe there was anything criminal or suspicious at this time,” the corporal told the Albertan.
Fire crews were able to arrive at the scene quickly after an attentive neighbour noticed smoke had started billowing out from the basement and promptly proceeded to call emergency services.
The call came in on dispatch at 2:07 p.m., Sundre Fire Department Chief Ross Clews told the Albertan.
“When I seen the basement fully engulfed, that’s when I called in for mutual aid to come (as a precaution),” said Clews, referring to the department’s partners in Olds, who dispatched one fire engine.
“It’s our protocol – they’re our backup, we’re theirs,” he said on Sept. 14 during a follow-up interview.
“You never know how these things (might) go,” he said.
Gas and power services were immediately cut off and two crews proceeded to initiate “an aggressive interior attack,” he said.
“When we got there, the residence was locked up; we didn’t know if people were inside,” he said.
“That’s why we gained entry quick, did our initial search and determined there was no one inside.”
By the time the crew from Olds arrived at the scene, Sundre’s teams had essentially extinguished the flames, he said.
“They assisted us with a final search of the building and ventilation, salvage and overhaul,” he said, adding the fire was brought under control within approximately half an hour after arriving on scene.
“And then we were just extinguishing hot spots in the basement,” he said.
The operation involved a rapid response pickup unit and two fire engines from Sundre with another engine from Olds, he said.
Compared with the recent late-summer heat spell, temperatures that day had dropped considerably and overcast conditions were chilly amid rainy weather.
Asked if there were any initial indications as to what might have started the fire, Clews said he did not immediately know and that it would be under investigation.
After the fire was “knocked down,” Clews turned command of the scene over to his deputy Chief Dave Bennett.
“He looked after the rest. I put full faith in my officers to run it,” Clews said.
By about 4 p.m., Sundre firefighters were rolling up fire hoses and preparing to clear out the scene with a couple of members donning air breathing apparatus conducting a final check of the basement, which was completely burnt out.
However, the fire was totally contained with largely only smoke damage sustained upstairs while no neighbouring properties were threatened.
“If you look at the building, there’s not much damage outside. So the flames never really came out, but the basement was fully involved,” he said. “It’s unfortunate it happened, but it was contained and didn’t spread.”
And the damage could very well have easily been far worse had attentive neighbours not reported the fire as quickly as they did.
“It was in free-burn state when we got there,” he said, adding the basement blaze “was starting to go real hard.”
After the smoke had settled and the operation wrapped up, Clews said the scene was released back into the homeowner’s hands.
