A Calgary family may have lost their home but they are glad to have each other following a house fire in the southwest.
Firefighters were called to the fire at around 6 p.m. on Thursday and when they got to the home on Garrison Green S.W., they found smoke billowing out of the basement suite.
Battalion Chief Larry Fisher says that while these types of fire are common, they present a fair amount of danger to crews.
“It’s common to have a build up of smoke and heat and not getting enough oxygen. There is a danger of a condtion called ‘backdraft’. In this instance, we evacuated that smoke, eliminating that possibility of the backdraft.”
Fisher says that everyone got out of the home okay and everyone inside conducted themselves well.
At the time of the fire, five children, aged two to 12, and their babysitter were inside.
Fisher is praising the family’s safety plan.
“The caregiver noticed the smoke, pulled everyone out, and called 911 from next door. He did exactly what they were supposed to do.”
The children’s parents were out for the evening when they got the call that their suite was on fire.
They breathed a sigh of relief when they realized that their fire safety plan worked.
“We frequently go over fire safety in our house and we go over fire evacuations. We’ve gone over if the doors are blocked for some reason, how else would you try to go out,” says mom Sara Baehl De Lescure.
Firefighers ventilated the suite and knocked down the fire.
The family has lost their home and everything in it and while they didn’t have insurance, they are just glad that everyone is safe.
“I am super super grateful. The most important thing is family. So everybody’s out and the rest is just stuff. It’s just stuff. It doesn’t matter.”
Investigators are continuing to search for the cause of the fire.
